Ben Rice

Ben Rice is the homegrown kid who wasn't supposed to get here this fast. A Dartmouth product -- yeah, Dartmouth, the Ivy League school where people go to become bankers, not ballplayers -- Rice forced his way onto the New York Yankees roster in 2024 and immediately showed he could hit at the big league level. The left-handed bat has real pop, the versatility to play both catcher and first base, and the kind of plate discipline that scouts fall in love with. He's not flashy. He just hits.

Path to the Bronx

Rice grew up in Nyack, New York -- about 30 miles north of Yankee Stadium -- and played his college ball at Dartmouth. The Yankees took him in the second round of the 2021 draft, which raised some eyebrows. Ivy League hitters don't usually go that high. But the brass saw a polished left-handed bat with above-average power and the ability to play multiple positions, and they pulled the trigger.

He moved through the minors fast. Rice hit at every level -- Somerset, Scranton, didn't matter. The bat played. By mid-2024, the Yankees had a need at first base, and Rice was the obvious call-up. He debuted on June 18, 2024, and made an immediate impression.

(A kid from the Ivy League playing for the Yankees. If you wrote that in a movie script, the studio would say it's too on the nose.)

Yankees Career

Rice's debut season was a small sample -- 42 games -- but the quality of at-bats stood out. He hit .241 with 7 home runs, and more importantly, he showed the patience and discipline that made him a second-round pick. Rice walked in 10% of his plate appearances and rarely chased pitches outside the zone. For a rookie getting his feet wet, that's exactly what you want to see.

The 2025 season has been the real test. With Paul Goldschmidt around as a veteran mentor and platoon partner, Rice has gotten the bulk of the starts at first base. The power has continued to develop, and the approach at the plate remains mature beyond his experience level. He's not going to hit 40 homers -- that's not his game -- but 20-plus with a .340 on-base percentage and solid defense at first? That's a freakin' everyday player.

The catching thing is a nice wrinkle, too. Rice caught at Dartmouth and through the minors, and the Yankees have used him behind the plate occasionally to give Austin Wells a breather. He's not going to steal the primary catching job, but having a backup who can also mash from the left side is a luxury most teams don't have.

Key Moments

The Ivy Leaguer Who Rakes

The Dartmouth thing gets brought up a lot, and honestly, it should -- because it's a great story. The Ivy League doesn't produce big league regulars with any consistency. It's a conference built for academics first, and the baseball competition level is nowhere near the SEC or ACC. For Rice to come out of that environment and hit professional pitching right away speaks to the raw talent and the work ethic.

His swing is compact and geared for line drives -- he doesn't sell out for power, but the ball jumps off his bat when he gets into one. The left-handed stroke plays beautifully at Yankee Stadium, where he can turn on inside fastballs and put them over the short porch. He's also shown the ability to go the other way, which is why pitchers can't just pound him inside and call it a day.

Thirty miles from home, wearing the pinstripes he grew up watching. Rice isn't the loudest guy on the roster, and he's never going to be the one doing bat flips or making SportsCenter for his celebration. But the bat is real, the approach is advanced, and the kid just keeps hitting. Sometimes that's all you need.