Emerging New York Yankees Slugger Earns Surpising Spot in Hitter Power Rankings

The New York Yankees are putting together a strong start to the season despite a tumultuous offseason and spring training.

Between the departure of Juan Soto to the New York Mets and injuries to ace Gerrit Cole and reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, things began to look possibly bleak for the Yankees as Opening Day neared.

But so far, any fears have proven to be overblown, as New York sits atop the American League East division with an 18-13 record.

Several members of the pitching staff have stepped up, chiefly Carlos Rodón and Max Fried, but major offseason acquisitions like Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger have underwhelmed.

Second-year first baseman Ben Rice has stepped up in a major way to provide offensive support for Aaron Judge's superhuman heroics.

Rice owns a sterling slash line of .266/.373/.585 to place him as one of the best hitters not only at his position but in the entire sport.

MLB.com analyst Andrew Simon agrees, as he gave Rice a spot in his latest hitter power rankings, putting him at No. 10.

"Rice rocked his second career multi-homer game as part of the Bronx Bombers’ 15-run barrage in Baltimore on Tuesday night, giving him eight long balls on the season," Simon wrote. "Hitting left-handed pitching remains a work in progress for the 2021 12th-round Draft pick, but there have been few better righty-mashers in baseball this season than Rice."

The 26-year-old alumnus of Dartmouth College is putting together a ridiculous batted-ball profile according to Baseball Savant data.

Rice looks every bit the part of an elite hitter, ranking in at least the 95th percentile in barrel rate, hard-hit rate, expected slugging percentage, average exit velocity and xwOBA.

A 12th round pick in the 2021 MLB draft, Rice showed his potential at every level of the minor leagues before making his Major League debut a season ago.

He posted a 1.082 OPS in High-A, .974 in Double-A and 1.088 in Triple-A, but he never broke through as an elite prospect in New York's farm system.

Prospects1500, for instance, ranked him 10th in the Yankees' system heading into the 2024 season.

Rice's ascension to the point where he truly looks like one of the elite hitters in the sport is a credit both to him and to New York's development team, which needed a win after several former top prospects failed to translate their pedigree to the Big League level.

Maybe a step back is coming for Rice, but it does not look overly likely. The Yankees have another high-end bat on their hands.