Yankees Breakout Candidate Revealed With Crack of Bat

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge said it wasn’t through his eyes that he noticed the physical results of Ben Rice’s offseason training. It was through his ears. 

“I could hear a difference in the sound coming off his bat,” the three-time American League MVP said. 

As a rookie last season, Rice had 152 at-bats over 50 games, and although he batted just .171, Rice showed off his power potential, with seven of his 26 hits going over the fence. Rice arrived at spring training with about 10 pounds of added muscle, and he bruised baseballs all across the Grapefruit League, making him a popular pick as a breakout candidate for 2025. 

“He’s just physically even that much stronger. So he’s hitting the ball as hard as anyone you’ll see – consistently hard,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said during the spring. “He’s controlling the strike zone well – had a couple walks yesterday in and around that big homer. So he’s just looking like a really good hitter.” 

Ben Rice Currently Ranks Among MLB’s Hardest Hitters

The bashing has continued into the regular season. After Wednesday’s games, Rice ranked third in baseball with an average exit velocity of 97.5, just behind Pete Alonso (98.1) and Kyle Schwarber (97.8). 

“He’s killing the ball,” Boone said after a recent game. “Just at-bat quality and how hard he’s hitting the ball consistently [has stood out].” 

Rice, who seems to have found a home in the Yankee’s lineup just in front of Judge, is hitting .306 with three home runs and four RBIs. The left-hander has 11 strikeouts and seven walks in his 43 plate appearances, most of them at either the 1 or 2 spot. 

Batting leadoff in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over Detroit on Wednesday, Rice broke open a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run homer to right-center. It was Rice’s only hit in five at-bats, and Judge, who watched it fly out from the on-deck circle, said it was a welcome blast. 

“We needed a big hit, and we were able to find it there,” Judge said. “A guy like that, he was 0-for-3 on the day, strikeout in his first at-bat. He could have kind of cashed it in, kind of moved on to the next day, but he stayed locked in the whole game for us and that was big time.” 

Ben Rice Likely to Continue DH’ing While Giancarlo Stanton Remains Out

GettyNew York Yankees designated hitter has been among the hardest hitters in Major League Baseball this season.

Rice has primarily been the designated hitter for New York, with one start and two appearances at first base. With no timetable on a return for Giancarlo Stanton, Rice will likely continue filling that spot for the foreseeable future. 

“He got a little taste of the big leagues, did his thing last year, but I think coming in this year, he was a man on a mission,” Judge said. “He talked about a lot of things he wanted to improve on in the offseason and then he came in here and did it all. Had some success in spring training, worked his way on to the team, and now, being a bigger piece, kind of being the leadoff guy for us has been very impressive. 

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