“Impressive at-bat after impressive at-bat” - Yankees captain Aaron Judge lauds rookie Ben Rice for significant impact on team’s performance

Aaron Judge feels that first baseman Ben Rice is making a strong impact for the New York Yankees following his recent call-up to the team. Rice was brought in by the New York Yankees after everyday first baseman Anthony Rizzo got hurt running the basepaths last month.

Talking to reporters after the four-game away series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees captain offered rich words of praise for the rookie first baseman's performance in the batter's box:

“It’s just impressive at-bat after impressive at-bat. We saw what he was doing in the minor leagues and it’s really translating well up here,” Aaron Judge said.

Since making his MLB debut on June 18, the 25-year-old rookie has impressed at the plate, with a .273 batting average and 104 OPS+.

Since Anthony Rizzo is currently on the 60-day IL, Ben Rice has enough time to secure his spot in the lineup if he keeps producing at this rate. The Yankees will certainly have a decision to make when Rizzo eventually makes his return to the team.

Ben Rice's plate discipline is at an elite level right now

Plate discipline has been the biggest strength for Ben Rice during his short time with the New York Yankees (Photo Credit: Imagn)

Even though Ben Rice has made a solid start to his major league career, he is not hitting for much power and has yet to get his first home run. However, he is showing excellent discipline inside the batter's box.

So far, the Yankees rookie has earned more walks than he has struck out in spite of having less than 50 plate appearances.

Yankees VP of player development Kevin Reese has liked what he's seen from the rookie:

“Since we’ve had him here, one of his calling cards has been strike-zone discipline. Some guys are really good at laying off pitches out of the zone and some guys are really good at swinging at pitches in the zone. Not many guys combine those things and swing at all the right pitches. Soto is probably the best at that and Ben has done a nice job of that,” says Kevin Reese, the vice-president of Yankees player development per Inside the Pinstripes.

The sample size may be quite small, but Ben Rice currently has a 12.5% strikeout rate, which is the lowest among all Yankee batters this season. Meanwhile, his walk-rate stands at 15%, with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto being the only players on the team that supersede him. Not bad for a newcomer to be in the company of such elite hitters.