Ben Rice has been one of the biggest reasons behind the New York Yankees’ fast start to the 2026 MLB season. The 27-year-old is hitting .343 with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs and a 1.214 OPS through early May, leading the league in both batting average and OPS. The Yankees have surged to a 24-11 record, sitting atop the American League East standings, with Rice forming a dangerous tandem in the middle of the lineup.
Rice has posted elite contact quality metrics, including a 59% hard-hit rate and a .504 weighted on-base average, both among the best in baseball. He has also proven effective against both right- and left-handed pitching, removing earlier platoon concerns and solidifying his role as an everyday first baseman.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
That performance earned him a league-wide honor. On Tuesday, the league named Rice to its first Team of the Month for April, selecting him at first base after a dominant opening stretch.
His April performance included multiple multi-hit games and key extra-base hits, including a three-run homer in a win over Baltimore.
From being a 12th-round draft pick to a central piece of the Yankees’ lineup, Rice has been on an upward trajectory since his major league debut in 2024. His résumé already includes a 26-home run season in 2025, and he is well on pace to earn his first All-Star nod this year.
While the individual honor is well deserved, Rice’s brilliant run hit a snag on Sunday when he exited against the Baltimore Orioles after taking a hit on a pickoff attempt, later diagnosed as a left hand contusion. X-rays came back negative, and he is considered day-to-day. He was ruled out of Monday’s game against the Orioles, and manager Aaron Boone told reporters the club will not force his return (h/t Bryan Hoch of MLB.com)
As of writing, Rice’s status for the series against the Houston Astros remains up in the air.
