Yankees’ Ben Rice falls short of top 10 MLB first basemen ranking originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
First baseman Ben Rice may need one more productive season to prove his rank as a top 10 player in Major League Baseball at the corner position.
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Rice will be starting at first base for the New York Yankees, while 38-year-old veteran Paul Goldschmidt piggybacks and plays mentor.
The left-handed hitter had a breakout season in 2025, hitting 26 home runs with a .836 OPS and an expected batting average (.285) way above his actual mark (.250). Can Rice duplicate and or improve on his production from last season?
Rice lands behind two division rivals
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranked Rice the 13th-best first baseman ahead of the 2026 season. Ahead of him are Jonathan Aranda of the Tampa Bay Rays and Wilson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox.
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“Rice did the bulk of his damage last season against right-handed pitching, and that will likely be the case once again after veteran Paul Goldschmidt was re-signed to serve as his platoon partner,” wrote Reuter.
“With occasional starts behind the plate mixed in with his primary first base role, there is a path to 600 plate appearances. His elite batted-ball metrics scream 30-homer upside.”
It appears Rice will have every opportunity for more at-bats this season against left-handed pitching. He hit just .208 in 106 at-bats against lefties last year.
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