Ben Rice Fantasy Stats

New York Yankees catcher/first baseman Ben Rice is heating up once again as we near the end of the first half of the 2026 season. In Thursday's 12-4 win over the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, Rice went 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs, a season-high five RBI, three runs scored, a walk, and a strikeout as the team's designated hitter. The 27-year-old left-handed slugger delivered his first multi-homer game of the year and the fourth of his career. Rice hit under the Mendoza Line in June, but he already has five home runs and 11 RBI in his 29 at-bats so far in July to raise his season slash line to .275/.366/.590. Rice has added 28 home runs, 65 RBI, and 63 runs scored in his 377 plate appearances in just his second full season in the Bronx. He has proven his breakout in 2025 was no fluke, setting a new career high in long balls in the first half of the season after hitting 26 homers and driving in 65 runs in 138 regular-season games in 2025. Under the hood, Rice ranks in the 79th percentile in hard-hit rate, the 90th percentile in barrel rate, the 91st percentile in xwOBA, and the 88th percentile in xOBP, backing surface stats.

New York Yankees first baseman/catcher Ben Rice will participate in this year's Home Run Derby during the All-Star break on Monday, July 13, according to MLB Communications. Rice will try to give the Yankees a record fifth Home Run Derby winner alongside Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002), Robinson Cano (2011), and Aaron Judge (2017). The only other known participant for this year's Derby in the American League is Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. After breaking out in 2025 in his first full major-league season by hitting 26 home runs and driving in 65 in 138 regular-season games, Rice has backed up the breakout with another phenomenal season, slashing .267/.360/.565 with a .925 OPS, 25 home runs, 57 RBI, 59 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 85 games across 364 plate appearances. The 27-year-old former 12th-rounder in 2021 out of Dartmouth College is proving to be the real deal, but he has been on a skid at the plate since June 22, going 7-for-52 (.135) with three homers, four RBI, four runs, four walks, and 15 strikeouts in his last 14 games over 57 plate appearances.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (hand) is back in the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener in Milwaukee against the Brewers and right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, hitting second in the batting order, according to MLB.com. A left-hand contusion suffered last weekend kept Rice out for the last four games, but he's good to go and will be back in action for a primetime matchup against the hard-throwing Misiorowski. With Rice back in the lineup, veteran Paul Goldschmidt will return to the bench against a right-handed pitcher. Fantasy managers will want to get Rice back into their lineups immediately in all traditional formats despite the tough matchup. After a breakout 2025 campaign, the 27-year-old former 12th-rounder in 2021 out of Dartmouth College is slashing an impressive .343/.455/.759 with a 1.214 OPS, 12 homers, 27 RBI, 30 runs scored, and two steals in his first 108 at-bats in 2026.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (hand) remains absent from the starting nine for Thursday's series finale against the visiting Texas Rangers, according to MLB.com. Paul Goldschmidt will make yet another start at first base and will bat leadoff for the Yanks with Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore on the mound. Rice is recovering from a left-hand contusion that has kept him out for a few games, and the Yankees are likely just giving him an extra day to recover with a tough left-handed pitcher on the mound. We'd expect Rice to return for the upcoming series in Milwaukee against the Brewers, potentially as early as Friday's series opener. Whenever the 27-year-old returns to New York's lineup, he'll be a must-start after his scorching start to the 2026 season. Rice is hitting .343 (37-for-108) with 12 home runs, 27 RBI, 30 runs, and two stolen bases in his first 33 games played. Goldschmidt will be a popular DFS pick on Thursday in the leadoff spot against a lefty whom he's hit .333 against with an .864 OPS against in 10 career at-bats.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (hand) remains sidelined due to a hand injury for Wednesday's contest against the visiting Texas Rangers in the Bronx, according to MLB.com. Paul Goldschmidt will make another start at first base and will bat sixth against Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Rice will be missing a third straight game due to a left-hand contusion that he suffered in Sunday's victory over the Baltimore Orioles. His injury isn't considered very serious, so he could be back as soon as Thursday's series finale against Texas. Fantasy managers are just hoping that Rice's minor hand injury won't affect his production at the plate when he returns. The 27-year-old former 12th-rounder in 2021 out of Dartmouth College has been a must-start since breaking out last year. He's currently slashing .343/.455/.759 with a 1.214 OPS, 12 long balls, 27 RBI, 30 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 108 at-bats. Goldy has plenty of experience against Eovaldi in his career, batting .238 against him with a .559 OPS and one RBI in 21 at-bats.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (hand) is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. Paul Goldschmidt will bat sixth and play first base in his absence. Rice suffered a left-hand contusion while fielding a pickoff throw at first base on Sunday. After the game, he downplayed his injury, which would seem to indicate that there's a strong chance he'll return to the lineup on Tuesday. He has been absolutely dominant at the plate this season, slashing .343/.455/.759 with 12 home runs, 27 RBI, a 17.2% walk rate, a 23.9% strikeout rate, and 224 wRC+. Managers will hope his absence is short-lived, as he ranks #5 among first basemen in RotoBaller's latest fantasy baseball rankings.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (hand) exited Sunday's contest against the Baltimore Orioles with a left hand contusion. According to Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network, Rice sustained this injury on a pickoff attempt while playing first base. His X-rays were negative, and the team currently views the young slugger as day-to-day. Managers should continue to pay close attention to his status ahead of their match against the Orioles on Monday and the start of their next series against the Rangers, which begins on Tuesday evening. Before exiting, Rice went 2-for-2 with a solo shot and a double. Overall, Rice has launched 12 long balls and is emerging as one of the top first basemen and catchers in fantasy. While he remains out, veteran Paul Goldschmidt should see most of the opportunities at first base.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice is in the starting lineup and is batting fifth on Saturday against the visiting Kansas City Royals and left-hander Noah Cameron, per MLB.com. Rice will get his first chance to start against a southpaw in 2026 after veteran right-handed hitter Paul Goldschmidt drew into the lineup at first over Rice early on over Rice against lefties. The Yankees said in the offseason that they wanted Rice to get more exposure to lefties this year after his 2025 breakout. So far in 19 games this year, Rice has picked up where he left off, slashing .339/.459/.746 with a 1.205 OPS, six home runs, 16 RBI, 18 runs scored, and a stolen base in 74 plate appearances. He's gone 4-for-14 (.286) with a solo homer against lefties, too. To take the next step, Rice will need to be adequate in those tough lefty-lefty matchups, and he'll get his first starting chance against a southpaw on Saturday in the Bronx. Rice has never faced Cameron in his career.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who started on the bench in the last two games with left-handers on the mound for the Los Angeles Angels, is back at first base and is hitting fifth for Thursday's series finale against the Halos and left-hander Brent Suter at Yankee Stadium, per MLB.com. Manager Aaron Boone said during spring training that Rice would see more starts against left-handed pitchers in 2026, so it was disappointing for fantasy managers to see him on the bench for the first couple of games of the series. The 27-year-old left-handed slugger is hitting a cool .333 (17-for-51) with four home runs, 13 RBI, one stolen base, and 15 runs scored in his first 17 games this year after slashing .255/.337/.499 with an .836 OPS, 26 homers, and 65 RBI in 138 games in 2025 in his first full season in the majors. Rice has work to do against southpaws, as he's hit just .194 (30-for-155) against them with a .673 OPS and eight of his 37 career home runs.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Talkin' Yanks that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt will start over Ben Rice again on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels and left-hander Reid Detmers. Rice also started on the bench in Monday's series-opening win over the Angels with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on the mound. Tuesday will be the fourth time in five games that the 27-year-old Rice has started on the bench this year with a lefty starting pitcher on the mound, despite the Yankees telling us that Rice would have more exposure to southpaws in 2026. It's especially frustrating for Rice's fantasy managers, as he's hitting a strong .362 (17-for-47) with four home runs, 12 RBI, 15 runs scored, and a stolen base in his first 15 games this year. The 38-year-old Goldy has been in decline offensively for several years, but he still can handle lefties pretty well. He hit .336 (50-for-149) against them in 2025 with seven of his 10 home runs coming against southpaws.