Why Aaron Judge will be on the Athletics executives' minds this weekend

Friday night will mark Aaron Judge's first major league game against the Oakland Athletics, but it won't be the 25-year-old's first encounter with the Bay Area club.  Nearly seven years ago during the 2010 June Amateur Draft, Judge was drafted in the 31st round by the Athletics, a team located just 85 miles west of his hometown in Linden, California. At the time, Oakland thought highly of the mammoth prospect, but they also knew drafting Judge would be a risk, as he was heavily considering to play college ball at Fresno State. “I was drafted in high school but made the choice to go to college,” Judge told The Record in Stockton last winter. “I wasn’t mature enough at that point to get right into minor league baseball. I learned from some great coaches at Fresno. It really helped prepare me.” Billy Beane, the Atheltics' executive vice president of baseball operations, didn't view Judge as a risk, despite the organization's doubts on his commitment. Nor did Jermaine Clark--the Athletics' area scout who followed Judge's progress throughout high school. “Big kid with a body to dream on,” one of Clark's reports read, according to CSN Bay Area. “Untapped monster." He also made a lasting impression on Athletics' scouting director Eric Kubota. “He definitely made a good impression,” Kubota told CSN. “You’d have to be blind to not see the physicality and athleticism. That’s the kind of thing that jumps out on the field. He’s bigger and more athletic than any guy he’s around.” As the story goes, the Yankees drafted Judge with the 32nd overall pick three years later in 2013, while the Athletics selected outfielder Billy McKinney eight picks earlier. At 2014 trade deadline, McKinney was dealt in a package to the Cubs, and just last season, the Yankees acquired the 22-year-old from Chicago in the Aroldis Chapman blockbuster deal.  Some drafts aren't an exact science, and some picks aren't slam dunks. But the Athletics are still pulling for Judge, even though he'll be in the opposing dugout this weekend. “I think in general we root for kids from Northern California, we root for kids we drafted,” Kubota said. “Ideally we’d love them to be doing it in white spikes, but we’re happy to watch them succeed no matter where they’re at.”

If you want to connect with Tom Hanslin, email him at thanslin@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @tomhanslin.