Ben Rice becomes second Yankees draft pick to hit 40 homers in season

Ben Rice is in the process of wrapping up a breakout season for the New York Yankees. That included making some history on Wednesday.

Facing the Tampa Bay Rays, the All-Star first baseman opened the scoring in the first inning with his 40th homer of the season. It was a second-deck no-doubter off a first-pitcher sinker from Rays starter Mason Englert.

Then he hit another in the fourth inning, putting him in a four-way tie for the AL lead at 41 homers with Pete Alonso, Yordan Alvaraz and Junior Caminero.

What’s better than 40 Homers? 41 Homers. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/optHUf3Q6j

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 24, 2026

By reaching 40 homers in a season, Rice has entered rare territory. As MLB.com’s Sarah Langs notes, he joins teammate Aaron Judge as the second Yankees draft pick to post a 40-homer season.

Yes, only the second.

Obviously, the Yankees have more than fair share of elite sluggers in history. It’s just that many of the homegrown ones entered the league before 1965, when the MLB Draft was first instituted. Others began their careers with other teams before joining the Yankees.

Here is the complete list of Yankees players to post a 40-homer season and how they joined New York, with pre-draft players italicized:

• Aaron Judge (draft pick)

• Roger Maris (trade)

• Babe Ruth (contract sold)

• Mickey Mantle (signed)

• Alex Rodriguez (trade)

• Lou Gehrig (signed)

• Joe DiMaggio (signed)

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• Tino Martinez (trade)

• Curtis Granderson (trade)

• Jason Giambi (free agent)

• Reggie Jackson (free agent)

• Juan Soto (trade)

• Ben Rice (draft pick)

There are other Yankees draft picks who have come close, with Fred McGriff, Steve Balboni and Don Mattingly all posting a season with at least 35 homers.

McGriff, a ninth-round Yankees pick in 1981, came closest to 40 among that group with 37 in a 1993 season split between the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres. He never played a game for New York, having been traded as minor leaguer in a a now-infamous deal for Dale Murray and Tom Dodd.

As for some other famous names, Derek Jeter never hit more than 24 and Bernie Williams never hit more than 30.

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p style=”text-align:left”>It’s all a fun little quirk of history, created by the flow of both the Yankees and the MLB rulebook through the time. It actually requires quite a lot to go right for a draft pick to his 40 homers in even a single season.