{"id":42852,"date":"2025-04-21T08:04:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T08:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=42852"},"modified":"2025-04-21T08:04:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T08:04:26","slug":"1-obvious-and-1-hidden-upside-to-yankees-young-star-ben-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=42852","title":{"rendered":"1 obvious and 1 hidden upside to Yankees&#8217; young star Ben Rice"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"New York Yankees v Detroit Tigers\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7811,h_4393\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/43\/01js03qh3jaw9zhbhacy.jpg\" alt=\"New York Yankees v Detroit Tigers\" width=\"7811\" height=\"4393\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">New York Yankees v Detroit Tigers | Nic Antaya\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\">\n<div class=\"hidden md:block md:mx-4 hidden md:block\" data-testid=\"share-menu\">\n<div class=\"sticky top-20 mb-3\" data-testid=\"share-menu-inner\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">It feels like yesterday that\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0first baseman Ben Rice was called up to the majors amid a rash of injuries to the team last season. Flashes of productivity, such as his\u00a0historic three-home run game, gave fans and media members reason to believe he would be a solid MLB player at some point.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">But even the most optimistic individual may not have predicted the growth that the New England native has enjoyed to start 2025. Rice has been deadly at the dish, and also offers positional flexibility that the Yankees should see as a valuable asset.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">While\u00a0Rice left Saturday&#8217;s game after a gnarly-looking HBP,\u00a0the swelling has reportedly decreased, and all CT scans and X-Rays came back negative. Hopefully, he&#8217;ll be back in full force soon, and able to provide his unique value to the roster.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">1 obvious and 1 hidden upside to Yankees&#8217; young star Ben Rice<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Through his first 16 games, Rice has bashed five home runs, collected seven RBI, and earned a 1.003 OPS. To put this in perspective, he hit seven home runs, tallied 23 RBI, and posted a .613 OPS across 50 games last season.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inarticle_d_2_5\" class=\"mm-slot-content\"><\/div>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004 ot-vscat-C0004 \" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1911167352927891566&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fyanksgoyard.com%2F1-obvious-and-1-hidden-upside-to-yankees-young-star-ben-rice&amp;sessionId=a9cb85cba867da3d3b76536682ac7cf37b3db58f&amp;siteScreenName=YanksGoYardFS&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1911167352927891566\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">\u201cThe approach has been a little stronger, a little more conviction in what I&#8217;m doing,\u201d\u00a0Rice said\u00a0in an interview with MLB Network, regarding his hitting stance.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Whatever changes the 26-year-old has made have clearly paid off. According to Baseball Savant, Rice currently ranks in the 99th percentile in Hard Hit% and Barrel%. He also ranks in the 92nd percentile in Chase%.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">He is a more disciplined hitter this year, and has quickly become one of the lineup&#8217;s most productive members. While this is\u00a0what Rice will primarily bring to the table\u00a0throughout his career, he has also made his case as a serviceable fist baseman with a brand of flexibility that is rare.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">It is far too early to determine if Rice could be a Gold Glove player. Still, his past willingness to return to catcher, the position he came into MLB associated with, is a critical trait.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">\u201cThat was the biggest thing, because I knew I was going to be getting more looks over there,\u201d Rice said\u00a0during spring training.\u00a0\u201cNumber one was just going to be the ability to manage a big league pitching staff, to confidently prepare for games and work with our pitchers. From a catching standpoint, receiving has always been my strength, so [a focus was] to just continue improving on my blocking and throwing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Even if New York never decides to give Rice regular reps behind the plate, the fact that he can catch at all is an asset that can keep their lineup flexible if needed. Further, his slug makes him a viable designated hitter for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Rice has been excellent, and the Yankees may not have even unlocked his full potential yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Yankees v Detroit Tigers | Nic Antaya\/GettyImages It feels like yesterday that\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0first baseman Ben Rice was called up to the majors amid a&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>1 obvious and 1 hidden upside to Yankees&#039; 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