Yankees Monday Mailbag 7/13: Ben Rice Needs More Love and an All-Star Game Idea

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Ben Rice is a budding star who needs more shine

How is Ben Rice still underrated by the league and press?
@mich.ds, Instagram

This is probably as simple as people assuming anyone around Aaron Judge can't hit, which isn't true. Rice is as good as anybody in the league and is putting up Juan Soto numbers.

Rice should be the starting first baseman at the All-Star Game. He leads all American League first basemen in WAR (3.2), wRC+ (166), and OPS (.971). He should be getting more love than he does, because he's better than anybody would put up there at the position, including the likes of Nick Kurtz and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Big postseasons tend to leave players overrated. Just look at Guerrero last year. You'd think they were describing prime Lou Gehrig last October. If Rice does something like that this year, things will correct themselves. Putting himself in the MVP conversation is another way he could get some love.

Cody Bellinger not earning his paycheck

Which Yankees need to step up the most after the All-Star Break?
@theezratakeshita

Cody Bellinger is one of the more important pieces of this lineup, and since Aaron Judge went down, he has been awful. Since Judge's final game, which was May 31st, Bellinger has hit .226/.289/.336 with a 76 wRC+ in 152 plate appearances. He has three homers and 13 RBI.

Bellinger is also in a homer drought. The last time he hit one was June 17th, and he has hardly had any extra-base hits during this span. He has had four doubles since that last homer, and two came within the past two days. It's an unacceptable lack of slugging from a veteran coming off a big contract when his team needs him most.

His strikeout numbers have been on the rise, too. Since the Boston series, he's striking out at a 23% clip. That's nine percentage points higher than his total on the year, which is at a 14% rate. This was an opportunity for the Yankees to make up some ground, and Bellinger struck out in the most literal and figurative sense.

Right now, the Yankees are three games back in the division. If they're going to claw back in this one, he needs to put up better numbers than he has. Rice has stepped up, correcting course heading into the All-Star break. Bellinger needs to do the same.

Ways to improve the All-Star Game fan experience

Should MLB All-Star Rosters be expanded
@mattman1199, Instagram

At the risk of sounding like I'm making the All-Star Game a participation trophy, that's honestly a great idea. Even if certain guys don't play, it's a positive for fan morale if a team is sending multiple representatives. People want to see the players on their team get some illumination.

Imagine being a Reds, Rockies, or Giants fan. You could use something to root for.

The best example I can use is the 2022 Oakland Athletics. That was the season they sent Paul Blackburn, who, if he were on any other team that year, likely wouldn't have made it. Blackburn was decent at best, finishing the year with an ERA north of four. At a minimum, that at least gave those fans something to feel good about that year.

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