Alexander Wilson
Max Fried was the story of Tuesday night in Seattle, and rightfully so. Seven scoreless innings, not a single run allowed through five games to open the season, a performance that reinforced why the New York Yankees paid him like a franchise pitcher. The full recap covers everything Fried delivered in a 5-0 shutout win that leveled the series with Seattle. But while Fried was doing his thing on the mound, the first baseman in the middle of the lineup was quietly having a night that deserves its own conversation.
Ben Rice went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two walks. He reached base four times and never made a pitcher comfortable in any of his plate appearances. To start the season, he is slashing .357/.471/.500, numbers that reflect a hitter operating with genuine intention rather than someone who got hot over a handful of games.
What Rice Is Becoming
The transformation from catcher to first baseman was always going to take time, and what has surprised people is how quickly the glove has come around. Rice played 46 games at first base last season while splitting time between catcher and DH, and the transition showed in flashes.
This spring he focused almost exclusively on the position, committed to it fully, and the results are showing in ways the box score does not always capture. His footwork around the bag has improved noticeably. His scooping ability on low throws has earned him comparisons to a converted catcher who learned first base the way a musician learns a second instrument, understanding the logic from a different angle than someone who grew up playing there.
I think the ceiling here is genuinely interesting because Rice brings something to first base that most teams do not have at the position, which is a legitimate threat to draw walks, hit for power, and make hard contact regardless of the handedness of the pitcher. His Statcast data tells the deeper story: elite exit velocity, elite hard-hit rate, barrel percentages that put him in the 92nd percentile or above across multiple categories. Those numbers do not fluctuate with slumps the way batting average does. They reflect a hitter who is physically capable of damaging a baseball consistently, and that capability has been present since his debut.
The 2025 season was the first time Rice played a full year and the results were encouraging. He posted a .836 OPS with 26 home runs in 467 at-bats, and his September was legitimately special. Hitting .316 with four homers over the final month of the regular season is what a player looks like when the moment stops feeling too big.
Why This Season Feels Different
At 27, Rice is in the prime years that projection systems use to build upward adjustments. His game is not predicated on tools that decline with age. Plate discipline sharpens with experience. Hard-contact rates are among the most stable skills in baseball. The only real variable for Rice heading into this season was whether the first base transition would cost him enough defensive value to create a lineup problem. Through five games, that concern has not materialized.
Two hits and two walks on Tuesday is not a career performance. It is Tuesday in April. But it fits a pattern of a player who came into this season with better mechanical adjustments, a settled position, and the kind of quiet confidence that tends to show up in the numbers before the storyline around it catches up.
The Yankees drafted Ben Rice in the 12th round out of Dartmouth in 2021. Nobody circles a 12th-round pick and says franchise player. Rice is making that prediction look increasingly shortsighted.
More about:New York Yankees
