In a perfect Yankees universe, one Aaron Judge would have helped create another.

The Yankees used their first-round pick in the 2022 draft on Spencer Jones, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound Vanderbilt star from California with plenty of power who, despite his size, has been able to hold down center field.

Jones, drafted 25th overall, is a lefty hitter while Judge, also 6-foot-7, from California and with plenty of power, was the 32nd-overall pick in 2013 and is a righty. With the Yankees, Judge has grown into a star capable of playing center field alongside 6-foot-6 Giancarlo Stanton, whose body type also is more commonly found in the NBA.

That the Yankees have proved proficient at developing and working with uncommonly tall players provides “some comfort” in selecting Jones, their vice president of domestic amateur scouting, Damon Oppenheimer, said.

“Maybe deep in your head, you’re going, ‘OK, we’ve had Aaron and we’ve had Stanton, we’ve had some guys like that and they’ve done well,’ ” Oppenheimer said on a conference call Wednesday, a day after the draft finished up. “Maybe we’re pretty good at that. So it’s just a tad, small piece of [the appeal].”

The bigger piece of the appeal is a “five-tool” talent who slugged 12 home runs in 61 games, with a .460 on-base percentage this season for Vanderbilt.

“He’s got big, raw power, he’s got ability to use the whole field to hit,” Oppenheimer said of the 21-year-old Jones, with whom the Yankees have chatted since he was in high school in Southern California. “He can throw, he’s a plus runner, and he’s a good defender. The ease of the way he does things is pretty special.”

Jones was the first of 20 college players the Yankees chose; they never plucked one from the high school ranks. Oppenheimer said they were “really, really close” on a couple of high schoolers, but he pointed at the fact the Yankees’ bonus pool — the available money they can use to sign draftees — is the fifth-least. High school players often require larger signing bonuses to persuade them to rescind college commitments.

Of the Yankees’ 20 picks, 15 were pitchers.

“When you go back and you look at … the history of drafts, if you’re going to get major league value deeper in the draft, 80 percent of the time, 90 percent of the time it’s pitching,” said Oppenheimer, whose Yankees selected a pitcher with 10 of their final 12 picks.

Oppenheimer was particularly pleased with eighth-round infielder Brett Barrera, one of the few position players they landed. The Yankees listed the Stanford junior as a shortstop, though he usually played second base last season, when he hit .351 with 11 home runs in 63 games.

“You get a guy like that from Stanford — those guys have a tendency to make it,” Oppenheimer said.

He also mentioned Northeastern righties Cam Schlittler (seventh round) and Sebastian Keane (18th round), and Mississippi State righty Jackson Fristoe (12th round) as selections he was especially happy with.

“I think that we got some guys that can surprise people,” Oppenheimer said.