Oklahoma State Second Baseman Roc Riggio Signs with New York Yankees

There was a feeling of déjà vu in Stillwater when a high-level MLB Draft pick didn’t immediately sign his pro contract, but after a few weeks, Roc Riggio has joined the Yankees organization.

Riggio, Oklahoma State’s star second baseman, announced via Twitter that he has, in fact, signed with the Yankees after the organization took him with the 129th pick in this month’s MLB Draft. Riggio signed for $693,000, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis.

Empire State of Mind pic.twitter.com/4Xt2vuWUxH

— Roc Riggio (@rocriggio) July 24, 2023

Riggio was the last of the Yankees’ draft picks to sign, which led to some wondering if another Nolan McLean situation was going to happen after the Baltimore Orioles took McLean in the third round of last year’s MLB Draft just for McLean to return to play another season at Oklahoma State. (Speaking of McLean, he also signed with the New York Mets.)

As a true sophomore this past season, Riggio hit .335 at the plate with 75 hits, 17 doubles, three triples and a team-leading 18 home runs. He had a team-best 66 runs scored to go with 61 RBIs.

Riggio’s signing comes just a few days after OSU ace Juaron Watts-Brown inked his deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Watts-Brown was the No. 89 pick in the draft (highest among Cowboys) and signed for just over $1 million, according to Callis.

It was a successful draft cycle for the Cowboys with four Pokes going within the first 200 selections, with Marcus Brown also signing with the Nationals. However, it does mean Josh Holliday and Co. have a good amount of production to replace. The Cowboys were able to land a commitment from Xavier pitcher Ethan Bosacker out of the transfer portal, but Bosacker reportedly plans on signing with the Royals after being drafted, according to the Tulsa World‘s Daniel Allen.

OSU did land Oklahoma transfer pitcher Aaron Weber last week. A sophomore with the Sooners, this past season, Weber had a 9.50 ERA in 18 innings pitched where he struck out 22. Out of Edmond Memorial High School, Weber started his college career at Cowley College where he threw a no-hitter a freshman.