Ben Rice DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

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.

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.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice was optioned to Triple-A Scranton on Saturday, according to the ballclub. The expectation is that this move is in correlation to Anthony Rizzo's expected activation off the injured list on Sunday. Rice got off to a hot start with the Yankees but majorly cooled off in August, hitting for just a .228 OPS in 41 PA during the month. Most of Rice's playing time at first base was taken over by veteran DJ LeMahieu, though LeMahieu's production has been less than ideal (.525 OPS in August). Fantasy managers should feel free to cut Rice loose between the combination of subpar production and Rizzo's eventual return. Those who have Rizzo on their roster should get ready to get him in their starting lineups as soon as tomorrow in his potential return to Wrigley Field against Cubs' scheduled starter Jameson Taillon.