Double-A call-up makes early splash in Yankees crowded catcher picture
BRIDGEWATER – In a different world, perhaps it was skates and not cleats for Ben Rice.
But the Somerset Patriots catcher seems to have chosen wisely, even if he’s had some big shoes to fill at TD Bank Ballpark.
Charged with taking over for Yankees top catching prospect Austin Wells, after Wells’ long overdue promotion to Triple-A Scranton, as part of a committee with Josh Breaux, Anthony Seigler and Augustin Ramirez, the 24-year-old Rice got off to a hot start after his own call-up, recording hits in 10 of his first 17 at-bats.
He’s since cooled off – Rice was still hitting .255 with five homers and 14 RBI in his first 13 games – but it certainly isn’t from putting any additional pressure on himself because of all the catching depth in the Yankees organization.
“We’ve got so many great catchers, and it’s just awesome,” Rice said. “It makes everyone compete that much harder with each other, and you just push each other to be better. It’s nice to have good numbers right now, but the catchers in this organization are really freaking good.”
Rice, who missed roughly two months of the season with a muscle issue in the lower left side of his back, has also seen some time at first base this year, providing the kind of versatility that he once did as a letter-winning hockey player in high school, describing himself as a “super-utility man” who played both forward and as a defenseman.
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“That was always my first sport growing up, always my favorite sport,” he said. “But, by the time I got to my junior or senior year, I realized I had a little bit more opportunity in baseball, at least immediately. Hockey, you’ve got to take a little bit of time before college, they like to get guys coming into their freshman year who are a little bit older … my junior year, what I had in front of me was more baseball, so that was the path I decided to take.”
Patriots starter giving them Fitts
For a time, it seemed like too much, too soon for Somerset’s Richard Fitts.
Now is no longer that time.
After some early-season struggles, the 23-year-old right-handed starter has reestablished himself as one of the system’s top arms and put himself into the conversation as the team’s potential ace alongside fellow prospect Chase Hampton.
What changed?
“I think it’s just been working on my craft every day,” Fitts said. “That’s what I’ve been working on all year, just trying to be consistent, and being a little bit more comfortable in the environment that I’m in. Being able to work on all my pitches has really helped me not have that one bad inning in an outing, or one bad outing every once in a while.”
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A sixth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Auburn, the Alabama native earned a late-season promotion last year to High-A Hudson Valley and earned the opportunity to start the year with Somerset after just five starts with the Renegades, albeit a stretch in which he allowed just two earned runs over 33 innings.
But he struggled out of the gate, pitching to a 6.21 ERA through his first seven starts before getting things turned around. “It (was) a little hard, but it was also a great building opportunity,” Fitts said. “We’re here to develop, but we’re also here to win games, and being able to develop in the moment from a bad outing and come back the next week and win, it really helps build confidence while also developing character.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Yankees prospects: Ben Rice off to hot start with Somerset Patriots
