Larger-than-life Aaron Judge leads

The top prospect in the New York Yankees' system, an outfielder with Dave Henderson Jersey a chance to help this year, is built like NFL sack master J.J. Watt. At 6-foot-7, 275 pounds, Aaron Judge is 2 inches taller and just 14 pounds lighter than Watt’s listed measurements with the Houston Texans.

Judge, 23, is dominating at Double-A Trenton to the point that the Yankees might soon promote him to Triple-A Scranton. From there, with the Yankees’ lineup leaning left, the right-handed Judge would be just an injury away from helping this year’s pennant run.

At the least, if Judge, the 32nd pick in the 2013 draft, continues to mash the ball, he is positioning himself to start 2016 in pinstripes.

In Judge’s first 34 games of 2015, he hit .314 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 140 at-bats in Double-A. His OPS was .892. This past weekend, he had a 14-game hit streak ended.

“When you look at him, you say, ‘Wow, that is what a big leaguer looks like,’” said former Yankees shortstop Bobby Meacham, who manages the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate in the Trenton Thunder's division.
From the opposing dugout, Meacham notices what nearly anyone who talks to Judge picks up: The big man tries to master the little things.

Meacham sees Judge position himself in the outfield, interacting respectfully with umpires and lifting teammates up emotionally, though he surely could do it physically, if he chose to.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman, not one to heap Chris Young
Jersey praise unless it is warranted, said Judge’s “makeup is off the charts.”

“If he keeps doing this, then he is just going to force his way up,” Cashman said of Judge's Triple-A trajectory. “It is not an if, it is a when.”

Judge, clearly the team’s top prospect, is leading a resurgence of outfielders in the Yankees’ system. While Judge is excelling at Double-A, Slade Heathcott, a first-round pick in 2009 and one of the franchise’s more fascinating stories, is resurrecting his career at Triple-A Scranton. After being removed from the Yankees' 40-man roster this winter, Heathcott has turned himself into a prospect again.

“He is a legitimate option for us at the major league level,” Cashman said.

A fellow Scranton outfielder, Ramon Flores, who is on the 40-man, is in position for a call-up too. So is Ben Gamel, also at Scranton, who was called the most improved player in the system by Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo.

At Double-A, along with Judge, the Yankees have Jean Segura Grey Jersey Mason Williams, who has a great glove and is starting to hit a little more, though his ceiling might be as fourth outfielder. Then there's Jake Cave, who Judge says, “goes 150 percent, and you just have to love that as a teammate.”

“I think all these guys are going to be in the big leagues, and I think they are going to carve themselves out careers,” Cashman said. “It is yet to be determined what kind of careers they are going to be.”

The apparent outfield surplus is quite a development for an organization that has only produced Brett Gardner and Robinson Cano as everyday Yankees position players since the Core Four began arriving in the early '90s.

ZIG-ZAGGING HIS WAY TO THE TOP

The Yankees have loved Heathcott’s ability http://www.authenticyankeesshop.com/authentic-36-carlos-beltran-jer... since drafting him 29th overall in '09. They did so despite Heathcott's alcohol-dependency issues and the fact that he once reportedly turned a gun on his stepfather -- and had a gun turned on him in high school. The talent was too enticing.

As a pro, Heathcott has had injury after injury, which has allowed him to play more than 100 games just once in his previous six years.