Exciting New York Yankees Rookie Named Midseason Player of Year

Baseball America selected the top player from each organization and the New York Yankees’ pick is already in the big leagues.

Jul 14, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (93) hits a three-run home run during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports

There are good reasons why the New York Yankees opted to call up Ben Rice on June 18, and his recent selection as the organization’s top minor league player for the first half of 2024 is a good reminder.

Baseball America named each organization’s top player for the first half of the 2024 season during the All-Star break and Rice was a relatively easy choice.

In his first 24 games with the Yankees he’s slashed .228/.315/.494/.809 with six home runs and 19 RBI. The Yankees were looking for a jolt of power and Rice gave it to them.

But he was tearing up pitching in the minor leagues before he arrived.

He started the season with Double-A Somerset, which is where he ended the 2023 season, and then earned a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Combined he slashed .275/.393/.532/.925 with 15 home runs and 36 RBI.

In fact, all he’s done in the minor leagues has been productive. He has a career slash line of .284/.397/.523/.920 with 47 home runs and 153 RBI. He has struck out 180 times but has also drawn 125 walks. He’s maintained that ratio in the Majors with 21 strikeouts and 11 walks.

New York has already gotten quite the return on its investment. Rice was the Yankees’ 12th round pick in 2021 out of Dartmouth. It’s getting rarer and rarer these days for an Ivy League product to get to the Majors. Rice managed it in three years.

But Rice didn’t get to show off much with the Big Green. He played just two seasons and only batted .242 with one home run and 13 RBI.

He joined the Yankees in 2021 and split his time between their Florida Complex League Rookie team and Class-A Tampa. He started the entire 2022 season with Tampa, but 2023 turned out to be his breakthrough season with the organization.

In stints with Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley and Somerset, he slashed .324/.434/.615/1.048 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI. He did the most damage at Somerset, where he hit 16 of his 20 home runs.

That put Rice firmly on the Yankees’ radar and made him the call-up when they needed offense after a spate of injuries, including one to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rice, who played both catcher and first base in the minor leagues, has played all but one of his first 24 games in New York at first base, where he hasn’t made an error.

With Rizzo on a two-year deal that features a team option in 2025, it’s possible their top midseason prospect is their first baseman of the future.