{"id":60755,"date":"2025-06-10T21:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60755"},"modified":"2025-06-10T21:32:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:32:21","slug":"yankees-may-have-heir-apparent-to-fix-one-of-their-biggest-regrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60755","title":{"rendered":"Yankees May Have Heir Apparent to Fix &#8216;One of Their Biggest Regrets&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roc-Riggio.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roc-Riggio.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roc-Riggio.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Roc-Riggio.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Yankees May Have Heir Apparent to Fix 'One of Their Biggest Regrets'\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Somerset Patriots<\/p>\n<p>New York Yankees prospect Roc Riggio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Apparently, the <\/span>New York Yankees <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> were not totally enamored with the overall package that <\/span>Gleyber Torres <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> brought to second base.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But it doesn\u2019t feel too hyperbolic to suggest that <\/span>they wouldn\u2019t mind <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> having some of the consistent offensive production that Torres provided at the position over the years.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As the Yankees primary second baseman from 2022 to 2024, Torres started 414 out of a possible 486 regular season games there. In the first 64 regular season games since <\/span>Torres left to sign <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> with the Detroit Tigers, New York <\/span>has used five different players <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to fill those innings, led by <\/span>DJ Lemahieu <span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and <\/span>Jazz Chisholm <span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and the quintet has been underwhelming, to say the least.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Meanwhile, Torres has played 54 games at second for the Tigers, slashing .269\/.381\/.394. As stated by <\/span>Joe Gonzalez of AI Bat <span data-contrast=\"auto\">:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe Yankees\u2019 dilemma is clear. As they try to find the right formula in the infield, Torres continues to shine in Detroit. His departure from the Bronx left a void that the Bombers have yet to fill. The decision not to bring him back might be one of their biggest regrets this season.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But perhaps that regret will be fairly short-lived, because according to Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media, the Yankees may have their heir apparent at second base primed for a 2026 debut.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Roc Riggio Crushed Four Home Runs in His First Five Double-A Games<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Giving his prospect report as part of <\/span>the Fireside Yankees podcast <span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Garcia highlighted the recent rise of <\/span>Roc Riggio <span data-contrast=\"auto\">. A fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Riggio was promoted to Double-A Somerset on June 3 after an impressive 20-game run with High-A Hudson Valley, and in his first five games with the Patriots, the 22-year-old second baseman has slashed .318\/.318\/.909 with a staggering OPS of 1.227, crushing four home runs and a double among his seven hits.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHe\u2019s hit the [heck] out of the ball this year,\u201d Garcia said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In 106 games at Hudson Valley last season, the Oklahoma State University product finished with 27 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. Over 27 games in 2025, including a pair in the Florida Complex League while on a rehab assignment, Riggio already has 11 dingers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe raw power has always been slightly above average, he\u2019s always had enough power to be a quality power hitter,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cBut the game power last year was more average, it wasn\u2019t great. He was hitting more doubles than he was home runs, and that\u2019s not a bad thing, but you want to see more home run power than double power if you\u2019re someone Roc Riggio, with a lot of loft in your swing.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Yankees Analysts Suggests Roc Riggio Could Compete for MLB Job in 2026<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Garcia said the key behind the uptick in homers has been an uptick in bat speed, the by-product of which could be a lower batting average, but the Yankees will take the power numbers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHe pulls the ball enough where the fly balls are going to leave the yard,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cHe\u2019s swinging a little bit more aggressively in the zone. We\u2019re not seeing the passive Roc Riggio that we saw a little bit at times last year. His contact rates are a little bit worse than last year, but that\u2019s expected for someone who\u2019s swinging a little bit harder and doing a little more damage on contact.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And Garcia suggested that the progression for Riggio, who also stole 27 bases at Hudson Valley last season, could have him competing for a big league job as soon as spring training in 2026.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIf I\u2019m Roc Riggio, you\u2019ve got to have that date circled on your calendar, you\u2019ve got to have February 2026 circled on the calendar, because that\u2019s a year that could be huge for his development,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cHe has performed at a very, very, very high level this season, I\u2019m very impressed with him.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Yankees<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Yankees second base prospect Roc Riggio crushed four homers in his first five Double-A games, sparking hopes for a 2026 MLB debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":60756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yankees May Have Heir Apparent to Fix &#039;One of Their Biggest Regrets&#039; - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=60755\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankees May Have Heir Apparent to Fix &#039;One of Their Biggest Regrets&#039; - 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