Ben's Meteoric Rise in 2025
A Blog by Greg
In 2024, a 25-year-old rookie made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees. Appearing in 50 games that season, first baseman Ben Rice had a .171 batting average, hit only 7 home runs, held a putrid 72 OPS+, and did not play at all during the Yankees AL Pennant-winning postseason run. Now, in 2025, Ben Rice is an integral part of the New York Yankees lineup and ranks in the top ten amongst all MLB hitters based on the WRC+ metric.
So, just how much better has Rice been this season compared to his 2024 rookie campaign? Ben Rice has appeared in 21 out of the Yankees’ 24 regular season games so far and has a .286 batting average, a 187 OPS+, a .390 OBP, and has hit one less HR this season than he did in all of 2024. Those statistics are certainly impressive for a player who was a non-impact player seven months ago; however, his advanced statistics are even more interesting. Like I alluded to before, his 190 WRC, according to FanGraphs, has him tied for 5th in the MLB ahead of MVP candidates such as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Kyle Tucker. Additionally, according to Baseball Savant, Ben Rice’s Hard-Hit % (64.7) and Barrel % (25.5) both rank him in the top 1% of qualified MLB players. Despite being a primary DH so far in 2025 and obtaining a -1.6 defensive WAR due to his 2 appearances in the field, he still ranks in the top 25 in total FanGraphs WAR amongst all MLB players.
Rice has clearly been one of the best hitters in baseball in this young 2025 season; however, identifying why he has been so good is a little more difficult. One possible explanation is the fact that he hasn’t played the field much at all this season. In 2024, Rice played first base in 48 out of his 50 starts and appeared behind the plate in the other two starts. In 2025, Rice was the designated hitter in 19 out of his 21 starts so far. Additionally, Aaron Boone has experimented with Rice being the leadoff hitter, one spot in front of Aaron Judge, which has seemingly been a success. Placing a heavier focus on hitting without having to worry about playing defense in games could be a cause for Rice’s early success. Also, batting in the leadoff spot could be an added boost of confidence for the young slugger.
Another reason for Ben Rice’s drastic rise in production is his effectiveness against fastballs. According to Baseball Savant, 53.3% of the pitches Rice faced in 2024 were fastballs. On those fastballs, Rice batted .200, had an average exit velocity (EV) of 92.4 MPH, and a Whiff % of 22.0. However, for 2025, Rice has been incredible against fastballs. Of the pitches he has seen so far, 48.9% were fastballs. For those pitches, his batting average has risen to .417, his EV jumped to 100.5 MPH, and his whiff % dropped almost 10 points compared to his 2024 numbers. Rice has been significantly worse against off-speed and breaking pitches so far, meaning pitchers will likely have to drastically change their approach when facing Rice.
The major question to address when discussing any player who starts a season hitting the ball incredibly well is always, “Is this production sustainable?” In the case of Ben Rice, I think he will continue to be very good for the Yankees in the near future. His numbers against non-fastball pitchers are certainly cause for concern; however, I will continue to sing Rice’s praises until he proves me wrong.
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