​PHILADELPHIA — When George Lombard Jr. wasn’t in the RailRiders’ lineup at Triple-A on Thursday, Yankees fans on social media hoped that it meant a promotion was in store for the club’s top prospect.Alas, Lombard merely had the day off. But the unintentional fake out showed just how eager the Bronx faithful is to see Lombard in the big leagues. If the Yankees are wise, the wait won’t be much longer.“He’s done a great job and certainly put himself in the conversation,” Aaron Boone said Friday before the Yankees beat the Phillies.Anticipation for Lombard’s big league arrival has grown in recent days and weeks, and understandably so. After going 1-for-3 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, the 21-year-old, considered off limits with the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, is now hitting .261 with an .832 OPS since being promoted to Triple-A in late April. He’s been better after taking some time to adjust to the minors’ highest level, hitting .331 with seven home runs and a 1.067 OPS over his last 34 games prior to Friday.That stretch coincided with a stint on the injured list — Lombard sprained a couple fingers in June — but the 2023 first-round pick has played well over a handful of games since returning.“He’s improved a lot offensively this year as a hitter,” Boone said. “He keeps getting better and better. One thing he does is control the zone, and he has some power, but that next level of that hit-ability, it seems like he’s gotten better this year. He’s playing really well right now, especially after coming off the injury where he missed a few weeks on the IL. He’s come back, and it seems like he hasn’t missed a beat, which has been good, and the performance has been excellent.”Meanwhile, the Yankees are getting minimal offensive production from their big league shortstops, José Caballero and Anthony Volpe.While Caballero has a career-high 10 home runs this season, his OPS is .675. Volpe, meanwhile, has a .650 OPS and has lost his grip on the Yankees’ starting shortstop gig after holding the position, nearly unchallenged, from the start of 2023 through 2025.And although Caballero, in terms of DRS, and Volpe, according to OAA, have graded out well defensively this season, Lombard is already thought of as the best defensive shortstop in the Yankees’ organization. Brian Cashman has said his defense is big league ready since the winter, and Boone raved about it on Friday.“The one thing that’s always stood out for me is the ease with which he plays defense and how good he is at it,” the manager said.The Yankees haven’t kept their feelings on Lombard, who can also play second and third, close to the vest, which has only increased expectations that he’ll be in the majors soon. The question is when?Aug. 4, the day after the trade deadline, is one possibility, as the Yankees are sure to shuffle their 40-man roster, which Lombard must be added to, as they move some players in and out in the coming