Inside The Pinstripes

New York Yankees Need To Give Hard-Hitting Slugger Regular At-Bats This Season

A young New York Yankees slugger needs to be a regular in the team's lineup this season.

Kenneth Teape

Mar 14, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (93) hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Mar 14, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (93) hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have a massive void to fill in their starting lineup with designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton battling several ailments.

He has injuries to both elbows that have kept him from swinging a bat for weeks. The pain is reportedly excruciating, being likened to tennis elbow by manager Aaron Boone.

On top of that, the former MVP is now dealing with a calf issue, but there is hope he will be able to return to the mix at some point this summer.

Injuries have become the norm for Stanton during his Yankees tenure.

Outside of his first year with the franchise, he has missed at least 23 games each season.

Finding production without him in the lineup is a yearly occurrence. But, despite knowing that it will come at some point, it doesn’t make him any easier to replace since he is a legitimate power threat in the middle of the order.

Who is going to help step up and take over the designated hitter at-bats while he is sidelined for the first few months of the campaign?

Non-roster invitee Dominic Smith has been floated as a possible replacement since he's someone who can play first base and the outfield in a pinch as well.

He has played well during spring training with a .296/.286/.556 slash line with two home runs, one double and 11 RBI at the time of writing.

A chance to see if that can carry over into the regular season should be provided to him, but the player New York should be prioritizing getting experience and at-bats for is Ben Rice.

He received his first taste of the Major Leagues in 2024 and it was a struggle with a .171/.264/.349 slash line, seven home runs, six doubles and 23 RBI. His OPS+ of 72 is well below average, but there was some bad luck involved.

His batting average on balls in play was .186, well below the league average of .291.

Rice's 3.9% home run rate was above league average, so his power seems legitimate since he hits the ball in the air with regularity at a 33.0% clip that is well above the league average fly ball rate of 26.4%.

He also had a strong average exit velocity of 90 mph, and since hard hit balls normally create better results, his numbers should improve eventually.

In spring training, his stats haven’t grown a ton with a slash line of .235/.316/.412, but with how frequently he is hitting the ball, his numbers should start to turn.

There aren’t many players in baseball who are hitting the ball consistently as hard as Rice in Grapefruit League games.

As shared by Thomas Nestico on X, the young Yankees slugger has four batted balls of 110+ mph, which is tied for the second most by any player this spring.

He is second amongst players with at least 20 BBE in Hard Hit% with 76.2%; only Nick Martini of the Colorado Rockies has been higher at 80.0%.

Eventually, all of that hard contact is going to turn into better production across his stat line.

As a left-handed hitter, he could do serious damage with the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium and should be given the chance to take over most of Stanton’s at-bats.

And if New York is going to replace the power that is no longer in the lineup with Stanton on the shelf, then they have to give Rice consistent plate appearances to see those results.

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Kenneth Teape
KENNETH TEAPE

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