Ben Rice practically drafted by Purple Sox earlier than Yankees took him
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He combines controlling the strike zone with some barrel consciousness and the flexibility to hit the ball within the air from each side.”nnBoone stated that he locked in on Rice this spring, when the prospect (rated No. 12 within the group by MLB Pipeline) held his personal throughout his first expertise in large league camp.”,”sort”:”textual content”},{“__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:””,”providerName”:”MLB”,”providerUrl”:null,”thumbnail_url”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/picture/add/ar_121:168,c_fill,g_face/w_121/v1/folks/700250/motion/vertical/present”,”sort”:”oembed”,”width”:425,”contentType”:”wealthy”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content material”:”“He’s coming off an impressive 12 months final 12 months within the Minor Leagues that put him on the map and burst onto the scene,” Boone stated. “He earned a visit to Spring Coaching and continued that by spring after which to start out the 12 months. 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21 minutes in the past
This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.
Rising up within the shoreside New England city of Cohasset, Mass., Rice was very a lot in enemy territory, incessantly sporting his beloved old-school Yankees dugout jacket in an ocean of Purple Sox paraphernalia.
Not solely did he as soon as scrawl “Yankees Rule!” on the right-field Pesky Pole at Fenway Park, however Rice’s allegiances can be put to the check as a promising ballplayer at Dartmouth Faculty, when he fielded curiosity from each groups.
“I had an opportunity to get drafted by them,” Rice stated. “That is truly true: It was both going to be the Purple Sox or the Yankees, most likely, that picked me. These have been the groups that I knew preferred me probably the most.”
To Rice’s delight, the Yankees beat Boston to the punch, deciding on Rice within the twelfth spherical of the 2021 MLB Draft. Simply three quick years later, Rice was rounding the bases for a 3rd time towards the Purple Sox within the Bronx on Saturday afternoon, becoming a member of Lou Gehrig (1925) as the one different Yankees rookie to drive in seven runs in a single recreation.
A transformed catcher, Rice has gamely dealt with the challenges of enjoying first base usually, and he has remained productive since being moved to the leadoff spot as a alternative for the slumping Anthony Volpe.
“You see the calm at-bats he takes,” supervisor Aaron Boone stated. “He understands the strike zone. He doesn’t flinch a bunch. Straightforward takes; you see the pull-side energy that he has, too. He combines controlling the strike zone with some barrel consciousness and the flexibility to hit the ball within the air from each side.”
Boone stated that he locked in on Rice this spring, when the prospect (rated No. 12 within the group by MLB Pipeline) held his personal throughout his first expertise in large league camp.
“He’s coming off an impressive 12 months final 12 months within the Minor Leagues that put him on the map and burst onto the scene,” Boone stated. “He earned a visit to Spring Coaching and continued that by spring after which to start out the 12 months. He’s come up right here and given us high quality at-bats each day.”
A lot in order that the Yankees are open to holding Rice within the lineup towards each lefties and righties. A part of the motivation in buying veteran first baseman J.D. Davis was to take among the load off Rice towards left-handed pitching, however Boone stated that Rice has held his personal towards southpaws.
“I’ve left him in there to face lefties mid-game, so I really feel like these alternatives are in there,” Boone stated.
Although Rice has been used as soon as behind the plate, spelling Jose Trevino for the ultimate inning of a June 28 blowout victory at Toronto, Boone stated he doesn’t sense any urgency to have Rice catching on a extra common foundation.
“I really feel like we type of put loads on his plate with arising right here and now transferring him into the leadoff spot,” Boone stated. “He is enjoying first base, and although he has some expertise over there, he is nonetheless very uncooked over there and nonetheless very a lot studying the place in lots of methods. So I need him to type of have the ability to deal with that.”
Rice credit striving for consistency as one thing that has helped him adapt to the quite a few challenges which have been tossed his manner.
“It’s simply trusting my strategy,” Rice stated. “I’ve lots of confidence in my strategy, and up right here isn’t any totally different. The sport hasn’t modified. The bases are all in the identical spots. That’s allowed me to hit the bottom working a bit of bit right here.”
