New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice is remaining in the leadoff spot on Sunday afternoon when the Yankees conclude their series against the San Francisco Giants. Rice has typically been deployed as the leadoff hitter facing right-handed pitching over the past week and will remain in that position on Sunday afternoon, facing San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb. Even when facing southpaws, Rice has typically been deployed in the two-hole. This afternoon. Rice will serve as the designated hitter. With Giancarlo Stanton (elbow) on the injured list, Rice has seen a significant role in the Yankee offense early in the season. Over his past 11 games, Rice has been swinging a hot bat, holding a stellar .300/.417/.700 slash line with two doubles and four long balls. Even in a tough matchup against Webb, Rice remains a top play in DFS and a must-start option in all standard formats.
New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice has been on a tear at the plate early in the season. He stayed hot at the plate during Saturday's game against the San Francisco Giants. Rice drew a walk and singled early in the game. In the sixth inning, Rice took right-hander Lou Trivino deeo for a solo homer to extend the lead. He finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk, homer, and two runs scored in the win. Rice is slashing an impressive .310/.431/.690 with four homers, five RBI in 13 games. He has been batting in the leadoff spot against right-handed pitching and it appears to be working well.
New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice and utility player Oswaldo Cabrera are not in the starting lineup when they conclude a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With southpaw Andrew Heaney getting the starting nod for the Pirates, Rice will retreat to the bench. Cabrera was also held out of action on Saturday. As a result, Aaron Judge will shift to the designated hitter spot, and Oswald Peraza will get another start at the hot corner. With Judge shifted to DH, Trent Grisham will be able to stay in the lineup even with Cody Bellinger (back) returning to action. Rice has enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign, posting a .320/.433/.640 slash line with two home runs. Cabrera has held a strong .316 AVG but appears to be losing time to Peraza. Both players will likely return tomorrow afternoon, facing right-hander Casey Mize.
New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice will serve as the designated hitter on Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers. Rice will bat in the eight-hole and face Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta. Rice was competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster and earned the job given his impressive performance. In the Grapefruit League, Rice launched five home runs across 20 contests with a .242/.319/.516 slash line. He tallied two doubles and held a 7:17 BB:K. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut last season but struggled to find consistency as he posted a modest .171/.246/.349 slash line with seven long balls. However, he generated a strong .340 xwOBA with an elite 15.6 percent barrel rate. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his production early in the season as he could become the primary DH against right-handed pitching with Giancarlo Stanton (elbow) on the injured list. Rice is worth a look as a high-upside play at a cheaper salary in DFS.
Jasson Dominguez, Ben Rice Make Opening Day Roster
New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez and first baseman Ben Rice officially have made the team's Opening Day roster, according to manager Aaron Boone. It shouldn't come as a surprise to fantasy managers that either player is on the big-league roster to start the year. Dominguez, 22, is the much bigger name in fantasy and will open his first full season in the majors as New York's starting left fielder. As long as he stays healthy, the Martian should be a lock for 20 homers and 20 steals. He hit .267 (16-for-60) with three homers, 12 RBI and five steals in 19 spring games. Although he hit just .207 (18-for-87) in his first 26 big-league games the last two years, Dominguez should be locked into starting fantasy lineups anytime he's active. Rice, 26, clubbed five homers in 19 Grapefruit League games. The power is there, but the playing time might not be as he tries to get at-bats at first, DH and catcher.
New York Yankees first baseman/catcher Ben Rice continued his impressive spring training with his fifth Grapefruit League home run on Wednesday. He smashed an 0-1 cutter from Phillies starter Taijuan Walker over the left-center field wall and boosted his ISO to .326 and wOBA to .413 by going 1-for-3 with two walks out of the leadoff spot while playing designated hitter. The 26-year-old has made a strong case for starting the season in the majors despite hitting just .171 with seven homers and a .269 wOBA in 50 games with the Yankees last season. He will likely get most of his playing time at 1B or catcher but could also get some work at DH with Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) unavailable to start the season. He will definitely be worth a look in mixed leagues if he's getting regular at-bats for New York.
New York Yankees first baseman/catcher Ben Rice has been showcasing his power during camp. Through 14 contests in the Grapefruit League, the former 12th-round selection has gone deep four times and held a .279/.340/.558 slash line. He has tallied eight RBI and held a 4:13 BB:K ratio. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut last summer and held a .171/.246/.349 slash line with six doubles and seven home runs. Across 30 contests at the Triple-A level, Rice has posted an impressive .294/.428/.661 line with four doubles and 12 long balls. Given his strong play in camp, Rice will likely make the Opening Day roster. While he will likely see most of his time at first base or behind the plate, the injury to Giancarlo Stanton (elbow) could open up the DH spot for Rice. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his development, as he could be worth drafting in deeper formats if he continues to hit for power.
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice worked out with the catching group on Wednesday. Hoch noted that the coaching staff said Rice is in the "backup catcher mix." Rice spent most of his minor league career as a catcher but primarily played first base when he made his MLB debut last summer. Across 50 MLB games, Rice logged 49 of those games at first base. Across his first taste of the majors, the 25-year-old posted a .171/.264/.349 slash line with seven home runs. Under the hood, he generated a strong .459 xSLG with a strong 11.2 percent walk rate. However, he struck out at a hefty 27.0 percent rate. At Triple-A, Rice performed very well as he held a .294/.428/.661 slash line with 12 long balls across 30 games. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Rice's status during spring training as he could become the No. 2 backstop behind Austin Wells.
Ben Rice Dubbed Yankees' Top Hitting Prospect For 2024
MLB Pipeline named first baseman/catcher Ben Rice New York's top hitting prospect of the 2024 season. Rice opened the summer by getting his second look at Double-A and performed quite well as he posted a .261/.382/.511 line with 13 home runs across 49 games. The 25-year-old then earned the call to Triple-A and continued to showcase his upside power as he hit another 12 long balls in a smaller 30-game stint and carried an impressive .661 SLG. The Dartmouth product then spent most of the remainder of the season in the major leagues. Rice got off to a hot start, launching seven home runs across his first 35 games. However, he then struggled over his last 15 contests, where he tallied just two total hits. Fantasy managers should closely monitor who the Yankees bring in during free agency, as Rice could compete for the starting first base job during Spring Training.
Oswaldo Cabrera, Ben Rice Considered "Primary Names" For First Base
With New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo (fingers) and infielder DJ LeMahieu (hip) injured, general manager Brian Cashman considers Oswaldo Cabrera and rookie Ben Rice as the "primary names" at first base heading into the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, which starts on Saturday. Rizzo is dealing with two fractured fingers and is a long shot to be included on the roster for the Division Series, and LeMahieu has been injured and ineffective all year. Rice will most likely be on the strong side of a platoon to begin the postseason against right-handed pitching, while Cabrera could be inserted at first base against lefties as a switch-hitter. It's not an ideal situation for the Bombers at this time of year. The 25-year-old Rice hit just .171/.264/.349 in his first 50 MLB games despite getting off to a hot start early on. He managed seven homers and 23 RBI.
