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Summary
Aaron Judge stands 6-feet, 7-inches tall, weighing in at 255 pounds. At the plate, he appears to be swinging a toothpick, rather than a baseball bat, and no jersey will ever be able to contain his massive biceps. When he makes contact with the baseball, opposing infielders probably fear for their lives. He truly is a manchild, which is why scouts were disappointed with his performance during his first two seasons at Fresno State, when he combined to hit only six home runs (two off Mark Appel).
However; things have begun to click for Judge in 2013, as he's already launched seven home runs, to go along with a SLG% close to .600. He's still a ways from maximizing his tremendous raw power, but his improvement is a great sign. If he ever fully taps into his potential, he has the chance to be an All-Star.
Players with Judge's size are usually at a disadvantage at the plate, because their strike zone is so much bigger than someone like Jose Altuve's. (Aaron Judge's strike zone probably equals one full Altuve). Although Judge has a decent hit tool to go along with his raw power strikeouts will probably be a struggle for him for his entire career. That's why it's important for the power to develop.
Judge's swing is simple and quick. He's slightly crouched, in moderately wide stance. He shows easy bat speed and balance. He's also one of the few prospects I've watched video on who swung-and-missed at multiple BP balls, which was pretty funny.
In the field, Judge moves surprisingly well for his size. He plays center field for Fresno State, but he won't in the Majors. He's a smooth athlete in the outfield and has a good enough arm to play right.
UPDATE (6/3): Judge has been showcasing his power in games more and more since the original version of this profile. He finished the season with a SLG% of .655, including 12 bombs. He's come a long way from six combined home runs in his first two years – he's hit five in the past month alone. You knew his power would show up eventually.
Major League Floor
Muscle off the bench.
Major League Ceiling
Judge could hit .250 with 35-40 homers and play serviceable defense in right field. Think along the lines of what Josh Reddick did for the A's last season.
Projected Draft Round
Judge won't make it out of the First Round.
Rankings: Keith Law (18), Baseball America ($$), MLB.com (31), Minor League Ball (21), Draft Insider (24).
Mock Drafts: Draft Insider (19), Minor League Ball (N/A).
Will He Sign?
Yes.
Bibliography
MLB.com
Guys his size -- Judge is 6-foot-7, 240 pounds -- stand out on the baseball field.
As one would imagine, Judge has considerable raw power from the right side of the plate, winning a college home run derby over the summer. That pop has not shown up consistently in games for Fresno State much, though he did flex his muscles for five homers on the Cape last summer.
Judge has patience at the plate, runs pretty well and has a strong arm, all the tools for a future right fielder. How he performed during his junior season with the bat was going to determine where he lands on Draft boards.
That performance was a bit up-and-down but a team that saw him on a good day -- and put stock in his strong Cape performance --might be willing to gamble he'll hit enough to tap into that power at the next level.