Winfield: In 1973, he was named All-American and voted MVP of the College World Series—as a pitcher.
He was an athlete AND a great baseball player.
A stand-out in baseball, Mauer struck out only once during his four-year high school career, and hit .605 during his senior season.[7][10][11] Years later, Mauer laughingly told an interviewer: "I can remember the time I did strike out. It was junior year, and it was in the state tournament. I came back to the bench and everybody thought something was wrong with me."[8] Mauer's high school batting average exceeded .500 every year.[9] He also set a Minnesota high school record and tied the national preps mark by hitting a home run in seven consecutive games.[6] Mauer caught for the Team USA Junior National team from 1998 to 2000 and hit .595 during his final year on the team. He was voted best hitter at the World Junior Baseball Championship in Canada in 2000. In 2001, Mauer was voted the United States District V Player of the Year.
Seems like he was already a great baseball player, not just an athlete.
https://gobulldogs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=140
Judge was a great ballplayer too.
My point and Jacko's point is that you go for the guy who can already hit the s*** out of the ball, not someone whose upside strictly comes from being an athlete.