Aaron Judge is pretty good with first impressions. In the summer of 2012, he hit a home run in his first game as a Brewster Whitecap. Last year, he was invited to Yankees spring training and blasted a home run on the first day of exhibition games.
Soon enough, the Yankees hope Judge will be making a good first impression in the Bronx.
The Fresno State product and former Whitecap ranks among the best prospects in baseball. He’s the third-best in the Yankees’ system, according to Baseball America, and ESPN’s Keith Law has him at 13th among all MLB prospects. With another invite to spring training this year, Judge is knocking on the door and has been mentioned as a likely big-league starter in 2017, as a key part of the Yankees’ youth movement.
Back in 2012, Judge was still raw, but he cut an imposing figure in the Brewster lineup. His 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame drew comparisons to Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Judge hit five home runs in 32 games for the Whitecaps. His summer in Brewster was the juiced-ball summer, so that total only ranked 20th in the league. It was a year in which Tyler Horan hit 16 home runs, after all.
But scouts suspected that Judge’s power – perhaps more than anybody else’s – would play best at the next level, and they’ve been proven right. Judge was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 draft. In 255 minor league games, he has hit 37 home runs.
Between two levels last year, Judge hit 20 home runs, including eight at Triple A. He’ll likely be back there to start the 2016 season, but that first impression isn’t too far off.