Yankees Ben Rice still hitting ball hard but not…
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ben Rice fouled two completely different balls off the identical spot on the highest of his left foot Monday night time.
The Yankees DH was in clear ache both instances, and yet it still may not have been as irritating as the dangerous luck he had been hitting into of late.
An evening later, he was finally rewarded with a 423-foot blast, his eleventh home run of the season — and fourth off a lefty pitcher — as he continued to clobber the ball and show he deserves at-bats even with Giancarlo Stanton’s impending return.
Rice’s numbers have taken a dip in current weeks, but his underlying metrics have not.
He went from batting .288 with a 1.005 OPS on April 24 to batting .244 with an .856 OPS getting into Wednesday’s 1-0 win in the collection finale against the Angels where he got here in to pinch-hit in the seventh and lined out to second on a ball that got here off his bat at 94 mph.
But Rice got here into Wednesday with an average exit velocity of 94.5 mph, which was the seventh-highest mark in the majors behind established stars Oneil Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, Matt Olson and Rafael Devers.
His hard-hit fee (balls that come off the bat at 95 mph or more durable) of 58.3 % was good for fifth in the majors. And his anticipated batting average — taking into account the standard of contact he has made — was .288.
That is why supervisor Aaron Boone just lately stated he still favored Rice’s at-bats, even if he was not at all times getting the outcomes.
“Dig back through, he’s hitting the ball hard still,” Boone stated. “He just hasn’t had a lot to show for in and around that. But I still feel like he’s hitting a couple balls hard every time he’s out there. I like where he’s at.”
The epitome of Rice’s poor luck of late got here Sunday in Denver, in back-to-back at-bats from him and Judge.
Ben Rice hits a solo homer during the Yankees’ win over the Angels on May 27, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Rice rocketed a 108.3 mph line drive to proper area that hung up just long enough to go for an out. Judge got here up next and cracked a 69.7 mph bloop to proper area that fell for a single.
Rice did finally get one to fall before the sport was over, though, lacing a 112.8 mph double.
“Ben Rice has obviously emerged as a great hitter,” stated Carlos Rodón, who made observe of the balls he had been hitting hard proper at fielders of late.
After getting off to a red-hot begin to his MLB profession final summer time, Rice cooled off in a massive manner to the purpose that he was optioned to Triple-A by September.
Ben Rice celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo homer during the Yankees’ win over the Angels on May 27, 2025. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Yankees thought there was some dangerous luck concerned then too, though he was not hitting the ball fairly as hard as he’s now.
Rice has continued to demolish fastballs this season to the tune of a .325 average with a .688 slugging proportion against them and an average exit velocity of 97.9 mph.
Pitchers have had higher success throwing him breaking balls, against which he was batting .132 with a .302 slugging proportion and 89 mph average exit velocity.
But he could also be getting more fastballs to hit by batting in entrance of Judge.
Overall, Rice has made essentially the most of the chance created by Stanton beginning the yr on the injured record, which can make the approaching weeks attention-grabbing.
Stanton is presently in Tampa to take at least a week’s price of stay at-bats before doubtlessly getting in rehab video games next week and presumably being activated the next week.
If the Yankees keep healthy until then — which is no sure factor — Boone shall be tasked with discovering a manner to get all of his hitters deserving of at-bats enough of them.
The present state of affairs has labored effectively with the rotation of Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez each getting the occasional time off relying on how Boone makes use of the DH spot.
While Stanton is unlikely to play every day, particularly early on, he does not offer any positional flexibility different than enjoying DH, which clogs up that spot to an extent.
Rice has taken occasional pregame grounders at third base, but to this level the Yankees insist that is just for enjoyable and not a signal of issues to come.
The left-handed hitter has also gotten into 4 video games this season at catcher, but only late in blowout video games so far.
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