TAMPA — Aaron Judge typically doesn’t take long to make an impression.
The 6-foot-7, 275-pound outfielder tends to stand out regardless of where he is on the field, and he made one former Yankees left-hander notice him Monday.
During his day-long visit to Yankees camp, Andy Pettitte volunteered to throw batting practice and afterward, was asked if anyone homered off him.
“The wind was blowing out,” Pettitte said with a laugh as he left the team’s minor-league complex. “I think Judge hit a couple onto Dale Mabry [Highway].”
That’s all well and good and likely will make a nice anecdote for Judge to pass down to his children, but the Yankees have more in mind for him than hitting homers against retired 43-year-olds.
Judge split last season between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and his production at the plate dipped dramatically after his midseason promotion.
He batted .284 and had an OPS of .866 with Trenton, but finished at .224 and .680 with SWB.
“They tried to pitch me a little differently,” Judge said of the added offspeed pitches he saw when he moved up. “I wasn’t able to make the adjustments as quickly as I wanted to. I’ve got to live and learn and get better.”
James Rowson, the team’s hitting coordinator, wasn’t overly concerned about Judge’s numbers at Triple-A.
“A lot of times, you see power arms from starters at Double-A and then you see them again in the big leagues,” Rowson said. “Sometimes in Triple-A, you don’t have as many starters with those power arms. I thought he picked it up as he went along.’’
He’s certainly on the Yankees’ radar. With a starting outfield of Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran all having gone through injury problems and new acquisition Aaron Hicks never having lasted a full season in the majors, Judge could find himself in The Bronx at some point this season.
Slade Heathcott, who has gone from a top prospect to a reclamation project, played with Judge at SWB last season.
“He’s one of the most incredible professionals I’ve seen in this game,” Heathcott said. “Just the way he handles himself. When he’s not playing well, he’s able to let go of the past and move on. You have to stay even-keeled in this game.”
Greg Bird was described in a similar fashion when he made his Yankees debut last season, and the attitude served him well until he was diagnosed with a torn labrum last month, which will force him to miss the upcoming season.
Still, Bird’s success in replacing Mark Teixeira, combined with Luis Severino’s arrival to New York, helped give Judge added confidence.
“It’s a great opportunity for young guys to be able to go up and show everybody what we have,” Judge said. “I’m excited that maybe I’ll get a chance to do that this year.”
So is Rowson.
“One thing that stands out as a young player that size is he has great plate discipline and body control,” Rowson said. “He’s as wide as he is tall, so he has a good foundation.”
Rowson has heard all the comparisons to Dave Winfield and Giancarlo Stanton when it comes to Judge, but he has a different mindset.
“My thought is, ‘I’m banking on Aaron Judge,’ ” Rowson said. “I’m hoping one day someone’s saying, ‘That’s an Aaron Judge type.’ I feel really good about this guy.”