The New York Yankees' biggest X-factor has made his presence known early.
The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners by a score of 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon, taking two out of three in the series and improving to 5-1 in on the season.
They did with Giancarlo Stanton resting on getaway day and with Aaron Judge once again looking rather lifeless in an 0-for-4 showing.
While the star of the show in the rubber match was Cam Schlittler, who dazzled with seven strikeouts and no walks in 6.1 scoreless innings, we cannot overlook the contributions of the player who was the Yankees' biggest X-factor heading into the 2026 campaign: Ben Rice.
Rice went 2-for-3 with a 427-foot home run in the victory, and in five games this year, he is slashing .412/.524/.765 with three doubles in addition to his homer.
The 27-year-old has gotten off to a scintillating start after a very impressive 2025 season, and it's looking more and more like Rice is developing into a critical piece for New York, both for now and the future.
Last year, in his first full season, Rice slashed .255/.337/.499 with 26 long balls and 65 RBI across 530 plate appearances. He registered an .894 OPS during the second half of the year, and he even managed a respectable .752 OPS against lefties.
New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice. Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.Rice was a terrific hitter in the Yankees' minor-league system, owning a lifetime .282/.399/.536 slash line through four minor-league campaigns, but because of his lack of a defined position, he was never viewed as an elite prospect.
But it's beginning to look like the Cohasset, Ma. native may possess an elite bat — or at least somewhere close to it.
Rice will probably never be a batting champion, but his plate discipline and his power should make him a very dangerous slugger for the long haul.
And in a Yankees lineup that includes Judge, Stanton, Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm, Rice may very well be a top-three hitter on the team.
However, because Rice doesn't have the name of any of those players, there were some who were overlooking the left-handed neophyte heading into 2026. Maybe not people in the Bronx, but certainly fans and pundits outside of it.
But Rice is quickly showing just how lethal of a force he can be and how he could be the straw that stirs the drink in New York's star-studded batting order.
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