Yankees fans should believe Ben Rice's breakout is for real this season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While the Major League Baseball season is only just underway, some clear storylines are forming for the year.
For the New York Yankees, the biggest storyline is the breakout of Ben Rice. He was already great last season, but he's taking his play to a new level in 2026.
Amid such a breakout, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch is calling for Yankees fans to believe this breakout is for real, and that Rice is a future All-Star, and a lefty-hitting counterpart to Aaron Judge on the right side of the plate.
"Yankees: Ben Rice is a future All-Star," Hoch writes. "The next step in Rice's development will come with increased opportunities against left-handed pitching."
Rice had a .255 batting average and an .836 OPS across 138 games last season. It was a great year, but there was room for improvement.
And he's shown exactly that so far in 2026. While it's only been 20 games, with limited playing time against lefty pitching, Rice has dominated this season.
He is currently hitting .339 with a ridiculous 1.242 OPS to begin the season. While not a super-long sample-size, Rice's production has been extensive enough to believe in.
More: Shohei Ohtani deemed more valuable than Aaron Judge in recent ESPN discussion piece
He already has seven homers and 17 RBIs with six doubles this season, and could be headed towards an elite season for the Yankees.
But, there is one issue: his chances against left-handed pitching. Aaron Boone has held Rice back from getting reps against lefties, and while those chances are sure to come at some point, Yankees fans are running out of patience.
Rice, the 27-year-old slugger, looks to be a future All-Star even if he's not playing every game as a starter. He's one of the best hitters in baseball this season, and his breakout is one Yankees fans should believe in. Rice is actually this good.
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