“I Didn’t Want My Stock to Fall…”: When 6’7″ Aaron Judge Cleverly Took Up a Different Role to Hide Injury and Get Drafted in 2013

Be it the top prospects or lesser-known talents, all young baseball players work extremely hard to earn a chance to get drafted into the big league. In 2013, Aaron Judge was one such prospect. He had wiggled his way into first-round conversations and was drafted by the New York Yankees. Most recently, Judge revealed a smart action that he took to get drafted that year. 

Judge had good scouting reports in college, with many pointing toward an above-average MLB career. Few would have predicted just how much he would achieve. But it might not have been possible if not for Judge’s intelligent move to preserve his draft stock.

Aaron Judge hid an injury to preserve his draft stock in 2013

Aaron Judge was selected 32nd overall by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Since then he has ascended to superstardom and signed a massive $360 million contract this past off-season. Most recently, he revealed that he hid an injury in 2013 so that he could safely get drafted. Judge had torn his quad with a couple of weeks left in his Junior year. So he played DH to end the season in order to hide the injury. The Yankees captain shared this story on an episode of “On Base with Mookie Betts”.

During the episode, Judge said, “Yeah well, I tore my quad in college, my junior year. So like, my last probably 3 weeks of the season, I was just DH-ing and all the scouts kept asking ‘Like, why’s this guy DH-ing?’ And it’s like well, I couldn’t even run around the bases really. I’m trying to get drafted, I didn’t want my stock to fall, whatever it is. So we kind of kept of kept that silence.” 

Read More: Furious New Yorkers Demand Answers as “Very Fragile” Aaron Judge Injury Update Surfaces

This was an extremely candid answer by Judge as he reveals the pressure he faced leading up to getting drafted. But luckily his plan worked, and he was a first-round selection with the Bronx Bombers. As they say, the rest is history.

Judge has become a superstar in the League

Since being drafted, Aaron Judge has overcome injury concerns and inconsistency to achieve superstardom. He broke records in his rookie season before enduring nagging injuries over the next couple of years. In 2022, he had his best year yet, smashing an AL-record 62 home runs, and winning AL MVP. Furthermore, he has been elite this season, but May was his best period of form. 

Watch this story: New York Yankees Star Aaron Judge’s Impressive Workout Routine

What do you think of Aaron Judge hiding an injury to get drafted? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!