It has been difficult, over the course of the past four years, to figure out what to make, exactly, of Yankees prospect Ben Rice. He was a baseball and hockey star in high school on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but did not get much of a chance to show his wares as a baseball player at Dartmouth, because the 2020 and 2021 seasons were cut off by Covid-19. But over the last two years, we’ve learned that the Yankees love Rice as a hitter.
Rice is a catcher/first baseman who was only promoted to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre on June 5. But he has been wildly successful at the plate this year, and with the Yankees looking at a bleak situation on the infield these days, the team made the surprise move of calling up Rice to the MLB roster despite such a short recent promotion.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported the news on Twitter/X.
Rice hit .261 with 12 homers, a .383 on-base percentage and a .511 slugging percentage at Double-A Somerset this year, before he was brought up to Triple A. He has posted a slash line of .333/.440/.619 in 50 plate appearances with Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
The Yankees had been prepared to have patience with Rice, who is 25 and entered the season as the No. 12 prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline. But the fractured arm suffered by Anthony Rizzo has forced their hand. And so did Rice’s bat.
Ben Rice Is a ‘Contact Hitter With Power’
Rice was a 12th-round pick coming out of Dartmouth, and not exactly considered a hot property early in his career. But he exploded last season, fighting through an injury to hit .324 on the year with a .434 on-base percentage and a .615 slugging percentage.
In an article at Fan Graphs titled, “Under-The-Radar Yankees Prospect Ben Rice Raked This Year,” Rice told writer David Laurila about some changed he made in his swing.
“Nothing crazy,” Rice said. “Maybe a little bit with how I was positioning my bat in my launch position. That was one thing, just making it a little flatter, giving myself a little more room for error by being more on plane with the baseball. That’s just a small thing, though. I don’t think too much about mechanics. When I do, that’s when it starts to get a little funky. …
“I’d call myself a contact hitter with power,” said Rice. “That’s maybe better than a power hitter that makes contact? I’m not sure.”
What is sure is that Rice has impressed the Yankees enough to earn a call-up and perhaps a shot at winning the first-base job. That might be a longshot considering the Yankees’ World Series ambitions, but Rice has consistently show he is capable of hitting at every level.
Yankees Desperate at First Base
Certainly, for Yankees fans, the situation at first base could not possibly get much worse. Rice has a low bar to clear.
Rizzo was in such a bad slump before his injury that he’d been benched a few games. He’s hitting .223 for the season, with an OBP of .289 and a slugging percentage of just .341. He was 5-for-48 in June, and is batting .104 for the month.
The only other option on hand at first base was to move DJ LeMahieu to first, bur he has struggled badly since returning to action early this month, batting .188.
It’s likely the Yankees will acquire a veteran to handle first base at some point before the July 31 trade deadline. Until then, though, maybe Rice should get a shot.
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