New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice
Questions have abounded throughout spring training over who the New York Yankees would end up using at designated hitter.
Since Giancarlo Stanton left camp early with pain in both elbows, which will likely keep him sidelined until at least the end of May, pundits have offered plenty of suggestions as to who the Yankees could target in a trade or free agency to replace the slugger.
But perhaps the answer has been there all along.
In Wednesday’s 9-7 win over the Phillies, Ben Rice hit his team-best fifth home run of the spring. He also added a pair of walks, and despite a 0-for-4 game on Thursday, Rice boasts a spring slash line of .260/.339/.899 with 9 RBIs, tied for third on the team.
“It’s fun to watch,” said Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger. “Fun to watch him work, and it seems as if he has a really good idea of what he wants and what he wants to accomplish.”
Ben Rice Hitting Baseballs With Eye-Popping Exit Velocity
But it’s not just what the left-handed swinger is accomplishing, it’s how he’s accomplishing it. The home run Rice hit on Wednesday off of Phillies starter Taijuan Walker left his bat at a sizzling 110.3 mph. In Monday’s game, a 6-5 loss to Toronto, Rice blasted his fourth home run of the spring, a 415-footer that came off the bat at 105.8 mph. And that was just the second-fastest hit for Rice on that night, as he also ripped an RBI single at 111.1 mph.
“[Rice is] controlling every at-bat, it seems, and hitting the absolute (expletive) out of the ball,” Bellinger said.
Through Monday, Rice’s average exit velocity this spring was 97.4 mph, which was among the highest marks of any hitter this spring (for reference, Aaron Judge led the majors in the regular season last year with an average exit velocity of 96.2).
“It’s impressive,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He can hit.
“It’s real juice everywhere.”
Ben Rice Could Provide Yankees With Answer at DH
A round 12 pick in the 2021 Draft, the 26-year-old Rice slashed .171/.264/.613 in 152 at-bats as a rookie in 2024, with 7 home runs and 23 RBIs. Since last season, Rice has added 10 pounds of muscle, and he said that has made a noticeable difference for him at the plate.
“It definitely helps,” said Rice, who had an average exit velocity of 90 mph last season. “It’s just putting more force in the ball, more mass behind it. Put it in the air, good things are going to happen.”
Primarily a first baseman, Rice can also play catcher, a skill that gives him an extra boost as Rice hopes to earn a roster spot with the Yankees as spring training winds down.
“I don’t see this as a complete mystery guess,” Joel Sherman said about keeping Rice as the DH on the Pinstripe Post podcast. “I think on our first show of spring, I said the Yankees think he’s going to be a five-hole hitter. That’s where he’s going to get. Now, did they think he was going to get there in 2025? I’m not sure that they thought that, but he does not lack for confidence.”
