New York Yankees

Ben Rice

The breakout that carried the Yankees into the break

Every Yankees first half has a headliner, and in 2026 it was a player almost nobody had penciled in: Ben Rice. What began as a part-time role turned into the steadiest bat in the lineup, and by July he had done something the projections never saw coming — made himself indispensable.

Rice earned his first All-Star selection and made it count, driving in a run in the Midsummer Classic and swinging in the Home Run Derby the night before. He and Cody Bellinger hit back-to-back all half, and in Philadelphia they became the first pair of Yankees teammates to each drive in a run in the same All-Star Game since Roger Maris and Tom Tresh in 1962 — the kind of company that tells you how rare the season has been.

The numbers will hand Rice some of the hardware on this page. But the reason he takes the Editors' Award is the part the numbers can't show: with the offense searching for answers, he was the answer often enough to swing the season's story. The Yankees walked into the break on a four-game winning streak, a Nationals sweep the exclamation point — and Ben Rice was the name in the middle of it.