Yankees Surprising Slugger Continues Earning Praise

After a bit of a rough 2024 rookie campaign in which he slashed .171/.264/.349 over 178 plate appearances, Ben Rice has emerged as a key piece both now and in the future for the New York Yankees.

While naming the most underrated players in the league at each position, FanSided's Christopher Kline made Rice his pick at first base.

"Rice has 23 home runs and an .806 OPS this season, with incredible batted-ball metrics to boot — 98th percentile in hard-hit rate, 94th in barrel rate, 96th in expected slugging (.573), which suggests that he should probably have even better numbers, if not for bad luck," Kline wrote. "Rice isn't anything special on defense, but he can play catcher or first base, and he's just getting started at 26 years old. The Yankees have found themselves a keeper, and role will only grow as the Yankees learn to trust him more."

Though Rice has served as New York's designated hitter in 48 games this season while also spending a fair amount of time at catcher, first base remains his primary defensive position as well as his likeliest long-term home.

Sep 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) runs the bases during his homerun against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images | Mark Smith-Imagn Images

A 12th-round pick out of Dartmouth in the 2021 MLB Draft, Rice spent just two full seasons in the minor leagues before making his big-league debut last June.

Though his numbers weren't impressive in 2024, his 15.6 percent barrel rate, 20.6 percent chase rate and .462 expected slugging percentage all suggested that he was due for some progression in 2025.

Much like Kline noted, Rice's batted ball data during his sophomore season has been some of the best the league has to offer. Though his slash line of .244/.329/.476 with 23 home runs and a 124 wRC+ is impressive in and of itself, there's a strong argument to be made that he's still been incredibly unlucky as a whole.

Rice has the makings of a potential star for the Yankees, and there's reason to believe that his numbers will take another huge leap forward next season as long as he sustains his current level of play.

There's plenty of hype surrounding Rice amidst his standout campaign, and all of it has been warranted.

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