Why the Ben Rice Excitement Is Real for the Yankees
With the New York Yankees expected to be without designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton for a significant portion of the 2025 season, the attention has turned to Ben Rice, who has been productive in spring training.
We will discuss the developments in spring training that give a legitimate reason to be excited for Rice, but it is easy to talk yourself into believing that he will be a productive big leaguer, even just looking at his stint with the Yankees in 2024.
PHOTO: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images
In 152 at-bats, Rice posted a .171 batting average with a .264 on-base percentage and seven home runs in 2024, according to FanGraphs. So, the optimism does not come from the surface-level statistics. Rice was very unlucky in that stint. He had a .269 wOBA, with an xwOBA of .340. A difference in .071 in wOBA and xwOBA is astronomical. Essentially, Rice hit the ball hard, but the results did not follow. Rice has a history of being very productive at every level of the minor leagues with a very similar profile.
Rice’s overall approach indicates something that is sustainable. According to Baseball Savant, he was well above average in xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel rate, chase rat,e, and walk rate. Rice showed the ability to hit the ball hard with patience at the plate in 2024, which is usually a good recipe for success.
Now, we get to the developments in spring training that lead to optimism heading into the 2025 season. Rice’s max exit velocity was 110.8 mph in 2024, according to Baseball Savant. After adding about 10 pounds of muscle this offseason, he has hit four balls at higher exit velocities so far in spring training.
The advanced metrics paint a rosy picture of Rice’s overall approach in spring training as well.
Rice has done all he can do to stake his claim to the designated hitter role for Opening Day in 2025, at the very least against right-handed pitching.
Once Stanton is back, Rice has the versatility to play either catcher or first base. If Austin Wells and Paul Goldchmidt are having good seasons, then there would be a logjam, but that would be a good problem to have.
Regardless, the Yankees would be wise to give Rice run as the designated hitter in the early going in 2025.
PHOTO: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images
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Categorized:Yankees