Ben Rice has become Yankees' newest superstar

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice. John Jones-Imagn Images

Ben Rice has become Yankees' newest superstar

By Nate Miller | Last updated Apr 21, 2026 1:07 PM ET

Is it too early to officially place the “superstar” label on New York Yankees' Ben Rice? Perhaps, but what he’s doing with the bat right now makes it apt.

The 2026 edition of the storied Yankees-Red Sox rivalry begins at Fenway Park in Boston on Tuesday night. Even with names such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger on the lineup card, Rice is the man that the Boston Red Sox pitching staff must zone in on with a plan of attack.

Rice brings a four-game home-run streak to Boston with him, and his numbers through 21 games this season are simply ridiculous. The 27-year-old slugger is slashing .338/.476/.800 across 84 plate appearances with eight homers.

He was productive in his first full MLB season last year, posting an .836 OPS with 26 deep drives over 138 games, but this is an entirely different level.

BEN RICE TAKES A LEFTY DEEP pic.twitter.com/MjU25hJstk
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 18, 2026

Ben Rice providing value for New York Yankees

Largely projected as a platoon player for the Yankees coming into this season, Rice has even begun to force manager Aaron Boone’s hand to put him in the lineup opposite left-handed pitchers. Before this year, Rice was a career .189 hitter with a 26.8% strikeout rate against southpaws. He has turned that around in 2026, going 6-for-17 with three homers and three walks so far.

Any idea of Rice not being in the lineup pretty much every single day going forward seems egregious now. He can catch, play first and slot into the DH spot. What's most important is getting him the at-bats.

Currently leading the majors in on-base and slugging percentage while coming in third in hard-hit rate (64.4%) and 10th in barrel rate (22.2%), Rice has looked like a left-handed version of Judge during the first few weeks of the season. If 2025 was his breakout year, Rice appears to be entering superstardom in 2026.

Nate Miller

Throughout more than a decade covering various sports, particularly MLB & NFL, as a writer, editor, and podcast producer/host, Nate Miller has contributed for many of the top outlets in the biz such as FantasyPros, Athlon Sports, Fantasy Alarm, Sporting News, and others. He's been heard as a feature guest on various radio stations and podcasts, including Sirius XM Fantasy, FNTSY Network, and FM 92. 9 The Game in Atlanta

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