The New York Yankees have lost eight of their last 10 games, are banged up and need a jolt of some sorts.
Luckily, they may have a spark plug internally in rookie first baseman/catcher Ben Rice, who was called up to make his major league debut on June 18 for a big series against the AL East rival Baltimore Orioles.
Since his call-up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he is hitting .261 (6-for-23) with a .333 on-base percentage and a .594 OPS in 23 big-league at-bats. He has yet to club his first home run in the majors, but has hit some balls hard so far. The left-handed swinger also has impressed scouts with his mature offensive approach and defensive skills at first base, which is a relatively new position for him.
One scout told SNY baseball insider Andy Martino that Rice “looks like he’s been here forever.” That is high praise for a youngster, who is trying to claim a permanent role with the first-place Yankees.
In the past 10 games or so, the top heaviness of the Yankee lineup has been exposed, especially after the team lost one of their best sluggers in Giancarlo Stanton to the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, an ailment that hampered him in 2023 as well. Stanton is expected to be out for at least a month, but could miss more time.
Without Stanton, the Yankees have Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, but the rest of the lineup has struggled to find consistency this year. Alex Verdugo has cooled off after a hot start and Gleyber Torres was benched due to his rough campaign on both sides of the diamond and possibly for a lack of hustle as well. First baseman Anthony Rizzo fractured his arm and won't be back until some point in August. That is why Rice has an opportunity to snag the role at first base, as long as he hits and proves to be capable with the glove.
Rice has yet to show major results, but there is potential there. He is being lauded by scouts, and could help the Yankees' lineup immensely if he can get hot at the plate. The Yankees also acquired former Met J.D. Davis on Sunday, who will split time with Rice at first base, play third base and slide in as the DH at times, too.
