Ben Rice is the Real Deal

Baltimore, MD – The most historic franchise in MLB made some more history last night by becoming the first team to begin a game with back-to-back-to-back homers multiple times in a single season.

Right in the middle of the slaughter of the O's last night, was Ben Rice. Ben Rice hit the third home run of the first inning (in a row), and homered in the second inning as well.

We have been talking about Ben Rice and his potential breakout since spring training. The breakout of Ben Rice is here. Rice has been hammering the ball around the whole field, and is hitting for power. Rice went 3-5 with a HBP and 2 homers last night, and even the lineout was hard hit.

Ben Rice is absolutely scorching the ball right now, and the advanced metrics back it up in a big way. He ranks in the 98th percentile in batting run value, which essentially means he's one of the most productive hitters in the league based on the quality and outcomes of his at-bats. This stat adjusts for things like pitch location and type, so it’s a great measure of pure offensive impact.

He’s also in the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, meaning almost no one in Major League Baseball is making consistent loud contact like Rice is. A hard-hit ball is one hit 95 mph or harder, and when you're at the top of the league in this category, you're routinely putting pressure on defenses and creating extra-base hit potential.

His 97th percentile average exit velocity further proves how well he’s squaring balls up — on average, Rice is launching baseballs off his bat faster than 97% of the league. This correlates heavily with success, especially in today's power-driven game.

And then there's the 98th percentile barrel rate — that’s the sweet spot of advanced hitting metrics. A barrel is a ball hit with the ideal combination of exit velocity and launch angle that typically results in extra-base hits or homers. High barrel rate = consistent dangerous contact.

But what really rounds out the profile is that Rice is doing all this without swinging and missing a lot. His whiff and strikeout rates are below league average, which is rare for someone hitting the ball this hard. That tells you he's not just a power hitter — he's a disciplined one. He’s not flailing at pitches out of the zone or getting blown away by fastballs. He’s making contact, and when he does, it’s violent.

For young hitters, that’s key. The ability to consistently put the ball in play means you’re giving yourself a chance to make something happen — a hit, an error, a productive out. And when you're making this kind of contact, those chances often turn into damage.