We are not here to predict that Ben Rice is on the same trajectory as Aaron Judge — or anywhere close to it, for that matter.

But Judge does know a little something about taking some lumps in his first taste of the big leagues and coming back for Year 2 with a vengeance.

“I think it’s like taking a test,” Judge said before this season began, in light of the number of young players the Yankees were banking on taking important steps forward, Rice included.

“You take a little practice test, see the test, see what’s going to happen, see what you’re going to be facing, what the grind’s about, the routine. It just helps you prepare for that next season. Because when you get called up, you don’t know what you’re getting into. You’ve never experienced that before. People have told you about it, but until you step between those lines and really do it, you don’t know what it’s about. So for me, it helped me prepare the right way and know what’s ahead of us.”