Yankees Name Ben Rice and Chase Hampton Winners of the 2023 Kevin Lawn Awards

The New York Yankees today announced that catcher Ben Rice and right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton were named winners of the 2023 Kevin Lawn Awards as the Yankees’ minor league “Position Player of the Year” and “Pitcher of the Year,” respectively. Both players will be presented their awards today in an on-field pregame ceremony prior to the Yankees-Blue Jays 1:05 p.m. game at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The annual awards are dedicated to Kevin O’Brien Lawn—the son of longtime Yankees Vice President and Chief of Operations Jack Lawn—who passed away in 1999.

Rice, 25, batted .324/.434/.615 (89-for-275) with 62R, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 20HR, 68RBI, 44BB and 11SB in 73 combined games with Single-A Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2023. He was named by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ “Hitting Prospect of the Year” after ranking among qualified Yankees farmhands in home runs (seventh) and RBI (tied for eighth). Rice also was named the Eastern League “Player of the Month” for August after batting .345/.397/.700 (38-for-110) with 24R, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 10HR, 29RBI, 8BB and 6SB in 26 games with Somerset. The left-handed batter was tabbed by Baseball America as the “Best Hitter for Average” among Yankees farmhands following last season. Heading into 2024, he is ranked by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 12 prospect, as well as being named the No. 13 in the Yankees’ system by MLB Pipeline. Additionally, he was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2023. The Cohasset, Mass., native was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Dartmouth College.

Hampton, 22, combined to go 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA (106.2IP, 85H, 51R/43ER, 37BB, 145K, 13HR) in 20 combined starts with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2023, his first professional season. He allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 15 starts, including three scoreless outings. Among Yankees qualified farmhands, Hampton ranked sixth in strikeouts and ninth in innings pitched. The right-handed pitcher enters the 2024 season as the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect and the No. 72 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America, as well as labeled as having the “Best Fastball” and “Best Curveball” among Yankees farmhands. Additionally, Hampton is ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Yankees’ system and the No. 92 prospect overall by MLB Pipeline. The Kilgore, Tex., native was selected by the Yankees in the sixth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University.

Each player will be presented with a trophy created by Brown’s Trophies of Tampa, as well as an engraved designer watch, courtesy of Betteridge Jewelers.