Ben Rice Projections 2025: What to Expect from the Yankees’ Young Shortstop

As the New York Yankees continue to blend seasoned veterans with home‑grown talent, all eyes are on Ben Rice for the 2025 season. Drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Rice has spent the last three years climbing the minor‑league ladder, showing the blend of contact hitting and defensive versatility that the organization values. This article compiles his recent performance, scouting insights, and statistical models to outline realistic projections for his 2025 MLB campaign.

2024 Season Recap – A Stepping Stone

Rice spent the 2024 campaign primarily with the Double‑A Somerset Patriots, where he posted a solid line:

His defensive metrics improved noticeably, with a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating of +5 at shortstop and +2 at second base. The consistency of his plate approach—averaging 3.8 swings per plate appearance and making contact on 84% of pitches inside the strike zone—caught the attention of Yankees’ front‑office analysts.

Projection Methodology

To generate the 2025 outlook, we combined three core inputs:

  1. Historical minor‑league data: Rice’s year‑over‑year trends in contact rate, isolated power (ISO), and walk rate.
  2. Comparable player modeling: Players with similar skill sets who transitioned from Double‑A to the majors (e.g., Gleyber Torres, Tim Anderson).
  3. Team context: The Yankees’ projected lineup depth, expected playing time for shortstop, and ballpark factors (Yankee Stadium’s right‑handed power advantage).

The statistical model weighted these factors to produce a range of likely outcomes, which we then refined with qualitative scouting