Background
He was born on April 26, 1992 in Linden, California.
He was born on April 26, 1992 in Linden, California.
Judge attended Linden High School, where he was a three-sport star.
Prior to his professional career, Judge played college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs of California State University, Fresno. He was recruited by colleges to play American football, but he preferred baseball. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, but opted to attend college.
He enrolled at Fresno State, where he played college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team in the Mountain West Conference.
Louisville Slugger named him a Freshman All-American. In his junior year, Judge led the Bulldogs in home runs, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs).
Judge was named All-Mountain West Conference in all three seasons he played for the Bulldogs. The Yankees drafted Judge in the first round, with the 32nd overall selection, of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.
Judge signed with the Yankees, receiving a $1.8 million signing bonus.
He tore a quadriceps femoris muscle while participating in a baserunning drill, which kept him out of the 2013 season. He made his professional debut with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2014. He had a.333 batting average.428 on-base percentage (OBP).530 slugging percentage (SLG), and hit nine home runs with 45 RBIs in 65 games for Charleston.
The Yankees promoted him to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League during the season, where he hit.283 with a.411 OBP.442 SLG, eight home runs, and 33 RBIs in 66 games.
The Yankees invited Judge to spring training as a non-roster player in 2015. Judge began the 2015 season with the Trenton Thunder of the Class Associate of Arts Eastern League.
After Judge batted.284 with a.350 OBP and 12 home runs in 63 games for Trenton, the Yankees promoted Judge to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class American Automobile Association International League in June. He was chosen to represent the Yankees at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game.
The Yankees decided not to include Judge in their September call-ups.
Judge batted.224 with eight home runs in 61 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He received a non-roster Spring Training invitation on February 5th, 2016. Due to his large size and strength, he has elicited comparisons to Giancarlo Stanton, Dave Winfield, and Willie Stargell.
He is a member of the New York Yankees" organization and is largely regarded as one of their top prospects.