The New York Yankees are off to a solid start this campaign, led by one of the hottest offenses in the league.
Things couldn’t have started off much better for the Yankees on offense to begin the year.
Coming into the season, there was some concern about the offense of New York, and rightfully so.
Losing Juan Soto in free agency was always going to be an impossible player to replace, but the Yankees did an excellent job with their pivot.
Even though it wasn’t all offense-related additions, New York created a balanced team with their additions this winter.
Now, with some new faces and some talented youngsters, the offense of the Yankees was going to be watched closely to begin the campaign. So far, they have blown past expectations with their record-setting start.
New York now holds the record for the most home runs in both the first three and four games to start the year. Fortunately, it has been a team effort.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com recently spoke about the biggest takeaway for the Yankees after the first week of the year being their ability to hit home runs, and that it isn’t just Aaron Judge doing the damage.
“The team has received home runs from nine different players. For example, the Yankees are getting solid production from first baseman/DH Ben Rice, who was 5-for-10 with two home runs during that four-game span,” he wrote.
While the captain of New York is certainly leading the way with four home runs and 11 RBI, he isn’t the only player who is slugging the baseball.
Shortstop Anthony Volpe is also off to a great start to the campaign, slashing .200/.273/.800 with four home runs.
However, one of the youngsters who is arguably off to the best start is Ben Rice. The left-handed slugger is slashing .385/.429/.923 with two home runs and two RBI.
Coming out of spring training, Rice was an appealing player to keep an eye on. He put on a lot of muscle this winter, and that helped result in a great spring.
Due to the injury to Giancarlo Stanton, the young slugger was easily able to make the team and is now playing a big role.
In the minors, Rice has also been a good hitter with a lot of power, but where he will play on the field has been a topic of discussion. As both a catcher and a first baseman, the flexibility he provides is nice, but catching games defensively in the Majors is a big difference than in the minors.
Furthermore, being plugged into the designated hitter spot to begin the year has let Rice focus on just hitting, and that is exactly what he is doing for the team.
