Surprise Sluggers Have Helped Support Yankees Star on Offense This Season

The New York Yankees have had a couple of surprise sluggers emerge this year.

Apr 7, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham (12) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | David Reginek-Imagn Images

As the New York Yankees try to navigate some recent struggles, their offense has certainly been the bright spot.

Despite having one of the best offenses in the league to begin the year, there were a lot of questions and uncertainty about the unit this winter.

While the team lost a superstar in Juan Soto, they did make some notable additions in the offseason to help replace him. Furthermore, the Yankees had some exciting youngsters who were predicted to take a step forward.

Overall, the length of the lineup has been a strength with talent from nearly the top of the order to the bottom.

That isn’t something New York could have said last campaign, but it has been a good start early on.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently spoke about one of the biggest surprises this year being some unexpected players stepping up to support Aaron Judge in the lineup.

“On paper, it ought to be guys like Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. In reality, only Goldschmidt is off to a warm start while the hits keep on coming from two unlikely heroes: Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.”

While Paul Goldschmidt has certainly been off to a great start to the year, the Yankees haven’t even seen the best of Cody Bellinger yet, who was their other key addition this winter.

However, the emergence of Trent Grisham at the plate has been a significant boost for the lineup.

While the outfielder was brought in to be the fourth member of the unit and play solid defense, he has far exceeded expectations at the plate. So far in 2025, he has slashed .344/.417/.656 with three home runs and nine RBI.

Those numbers are far better than any year of his career, so New York will take the production for as long as he can keep it up.

Furthermore, the other surprise star has been Ben Rice.

After lighting it up in spring training and earning a spot on the team, Rice has now solidified his position on the roster and in the lineup.

Currently, the left-handed slugger has seemingly become the new leadoff hitter for the Yankees.

This season, he has slashed .310/.431/.690 with four home runs and five RBI in 13 games.

Even though Rice and Grisham might not have been expected to perform as well as they have, both are earning playing time this year for New York.

The performance of the two helped create the depth for the lineup that the team desired this offseason and is one of the main reasons for the success early on.