In his first public comments since beginning baseball activities, Aaron Judge twice said he is attempting to “speed through” his rehab and return as soon as possible.

In Judge’s mind, and probably the Yankees’, too, an expedited activation would mean no detours in Somerset or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees captain, who Tuesday graduated to indoor batting practice for the first time since being diagnosed with a stress fracture of a rib, sees no point in spending time in the minors when the major league team needs him quickly for the stretch run with the division on the line.

“I didn’t rehab in ’23 when I missed probably the same amount of time,” said Judge, who has missed nearly three months this time and three years ago was sidelined for nearly two months after tearing a ligament in his big toe. “Why waste at-bats? Why waste anything down in a minor league game?

“I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I got a sense of what I need to do on the field and how to manage it.”

Informed about Judge’s wishes, manager Aaron Boone smiled and said Judge already had relayed the same to Boone.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge shagged balls in the outfield before Monday’s game against the Astros. Robert Sabo for NY Post

“If and when we get to that point, we’ll work through all that,” Boone said before the Yankees finished a series with the Astros on Thursday.

Physically, Judge said he feels “great” and has encountered no setbacks in his early days of baseball activity. He has been throwing in the outfield, running and now hitting in the cage, which he did Tuesday and expected to do again Thursday. Yes, he is swinging, but against overhand tosses from assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes. He has not yet faced a machine or real velocity yet.

New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton (27) and Aaron Judge (99) after the game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Judge declined to offer when, exactly, he could return but said “hopefully soon,” with the biggest obstacle simply doing more of everything.

“Now, it’s about volume, trying to get my volume back up since I haven’t played in quite a long time,” said Judge, who expects to return as an unaffected Aaron Judge in the batter’s box and a perhaps altered version of himself in the outfield.

Judge said he has not asked doctors about whether to expect his typical power or bat speed to be there immediately upon returning. When Boone saw Judge swinging in the cage Tuesday, the manager stopped, saw a few swings and thought to himself: “That’s Aaron Judge. So it was encouraging.”

For a team that has had serious issues scoring runs, even a lesser version would be encouraging.

“I think we won’t really see [about power and bat speed] until we get out there in some games and stuff,” said Judge, who has not played since May 31 and only was cleared for even light activities early this month. “But I’m not too worried about the power or bat speed because I feel like even if it’s a tick off, I think it’s still better than nothing.”

Judge will rejoin a team that has changed since May, adding another designated hitter-type in Luis García Jr. to a club that already has a designated hitter-type in Ben Rice.

In a perfect world, the Yankees probably would want to shield Judge — who sustained the injury diving in the outfield — from the field, but the plan is for Judge to return to right, with which Judge is on board.

But a superstar who is paid $360 million for his bat said he will play “smart” defensively.

“I’m going to still try to go out there and make every play I can, but you got to be smart, especially near the end of the year now,” Judge said before adding, “If it’s Game 7 of the World Series, I’ll definitely be diving.”

The next steps for Judge will be to swing more and against truer pitching. He referenced the Trajekt machine, which imitates the arsenals of various pitchers, and said he could take at-bats against rehabbing pitchers.

“There’s plenty of options to kind of getting that timing back,” Judge said after attempting to eliminate one.