Ben Rice is becoming the player the NY Yankees always believed he could be
Max Fried was the story of Tuesday evening in Seattle, and rightfully so. Seven scoreless innings, not a single run allowed by way of 5 video games to open the season, a efficiency that bolstered why the New York Yankees paid him like a franchise pitcher. The full recap covers everything Fried delivered in a 5-0 shutout win that leveled the sequence with Seattle. But whereas Fried was doing his factor on the mound, the first baseman in the center of the lineup was quietly having an evening that deserves its personal dialog.
Ben Rice went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two walks. He reached base 4 occasions and by no means made a pitcher snug in any of his plate appearances. To begin the season, he is slashing .357/.471/.500, numbers that replicate a hitter working with real intention somewhat than somebody who bought scorching over a handful of video games.
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What Rice Is Becoming
The transformation from catcher to first baseman was always going to take time, and what has stunned folks is how rapidly the glove has come round. Rice performed 46 video games at first base final season whereas splitting time between catcher and DH, and the transition confirmed in flashes.
This spring he centered nearly solely on the place, dedicated to it totally, and the outcomes are exhibiting in methods the field rating doesn’t always seize. His footwork round the bag has improved noticeably. His scooping capacity on low throws has earned him comparisons to a transformed catcher who discovered first base the manner a musician learns a second instrument, understanding the logic from a distinct angle than somebody who grew up taking part in there.
Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images
I feel the ceiling right here is genuinely fascinating as a result of Rice brings one thing to first base that the majority groups should not have at the place, which is a reputable menace to attract walks, hit for energy, and make laborious contact no matter the handedness of the pitcher. His Statcast data tells the deeper story: elite exit velocity, elite hard-hit fee, barrel percentages that put him in the 92nd percentile or above throughout a number of classes. Those numbers don’t fluctuate with slumps the manner batting common does. They replicate a hitter who is bodily able to damaging a baseball constantly, and that functionality has been current since his debut.
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The 2025 season was the first time Rice performed a full 12 months and the outcomes had been encouraging. He posted a .836 OPS with 26 residence runs in 467 at-bats, and his September was legitimately particular. Hitting .316 with 4 homers over the remaining month of the common season is what a player seems like when the second stops feeling too large.
Why This Season Feels Different
At 27, Rice is in the first years that projection methods use to construct upward changes. His recreation is not predicated on instruments that decline with age. Plate self-discipline sharpens with expertise. Hard-contact charges are amongst the most steady expertise in baseball. The solely actual variable for Rice heading into this season was whether or not the first base transition would value him sufficient defensive worth to create a lineup drawback. Through 5 video games, that concern has not materialized.
Two hits and two walks on Tuesday is not a profession efficiency. It is Tuesday in April. But it suits a sample of a player who got here into this season with higher mechanical changes, a settled place, and the type of quiet confidence that tends to point out up in the numbers earlier than the storyline round it catches up.
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The Yankees drafted Ben Rice in the Twelfth spherical out of Dartmouth in 2021. Nobody circles a Twelfth-round decide and says franchise player. Rice is making that prediction look more and more shortsighted.
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