Ben Rice has played more games in the majors (12) than in Triple-A (11).
And he’s doing it at a position where he started just 52 professional games before being promoted to the Bronx last month.
But it wasn’t the 25-year-old’s defense that prompted the Yankees to hire Rice as first baseman in place of Anthony Rizzo, who went down with a broken right forearm.
It was his bat.
In that respect, Rice has lived up to expectations despite only appearing in 40 at-bats.
One of the reasons the Yankees turned their attention to Rice when Rizzo was injured was because he had consistently batted well throughout his minor league career.
The team praised Rice not only for his power but also for his discipline at the plate.
Rice has displayed both traits during his brief major league tenure, solidifying his position at first base and DJ LeMahieu might finally be warming up at home plate while playing third base.
“He’s everything he’s advertised,” said an American League scout who has seen Rice in the two series since his promotion. “He has a calmness at the plate that you can’t teach. He showed it in the minor leagues, but it doesn’t necessarily translate here.”
As evidence of this, Rice’s strikeout rate of 12.5 percent is the lowest on the team, and his walk rate of 15 percent is second only to notoriously patient players Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
In terms of power, Rice’s average exit velocity of 91.5 mph is fourth on the team behind Judge, Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.
“Ever since he’s been here, one of his trademarks has been his strike zone discipline,” vice president of player development Kevin Reese said. “Some guys are really good at making pitches outside the zone hit, and some guys are really good at swinging at pitches in the zone. There aren’t many guys who can do both and swing at all the right pitches. Soto is probably the best at that, and Ben has done a good job of doing it.”
“To come here at that age, the teams he’s played for are tough teams,” Judge said in Toronto. “I’m going to get back into the game. [Saturday]”He stepped up to bat, went right into the No. 2 hole and hit a great liner to left-center field. Just another great at-bat. We’ve seen what he does in the minor leagues and it’s working out here.”
Manager Aaron Boone also praised the quality of Rice’s at-bats, with the manager praising his “ability to make an impact with the ball.”
Boone also said Rice “held his own” against left-handed pitching, which he said is a weak spot in Rice’s resume and where J.D. Davis could shine.
Rice has one hit in 12 at-bats, one walk and four strikeouts in 13 at-bats against left-handed pitchers, but has an OPS of .958 in 27 at-bats against right-handed pitchers.
His production in the minor leagues this season hasn’t been all that lopsided (.936-.783), but it’s easy to see why the Yankees would want to keep the right-handed Davis around to face at least some left-handed pitchers.
Meanwhile, defensively, Rice’s defensive metrics aren’t great, but he is at least above average at his position, and the Yankees don’t have a solid player they can rely on defensively.
And Reese said the Yankees continue to believe he can be a major league catcher.
“When he moved up to Triple-A, we had a conversation with him and said, ‘We know you’re a catcher and we still think you’re a catcher, but we want coverage. [at first base]Rees said of Rice’s promotion from Double-A Somerset less than a month ago.
Reiss said the Yankees were looking for “insurance” in a number of different places.
Rice’s workload initially increased because the team had a number of promising catchers.
“When he dreamed of making it to the major leagues, I’m sure it was as a catcher, not a first baseman, but here he is.”
With the Yankees’ first baseman future unclear and Jose Trevino and Austin Wells entrenched at catcher, it’s unclear when Rice will return behind catcher, but the Yankees value Rice’s skills at the position.
“We’ll see what happens over time,” Reese said.
For now, Rice is at first base, and he should continue to get plenty of playing time as the Reds are scheduled to start two right-handed pitchers, including former Yankee Frankie Montas, for a three-game series at Yankee Stadium starting Tuesday.
With the trade deadline four weeks from Tuesday, the Yankees still have to decide whether their infield is strong enough to compete for a championship, but at least Rice has given the team something to think about over the past two weeks.
—Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
