College Station will be the host of a premier SEC battle this weekend. The 18th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies are set to play the 2nd-ranked Texas Longhorns in a series that should offer plenty of excitement and drama. When the series kicks off on Friday night, the Longhorns ace, Ruger Riojas, will be facing arguably his biggest test this season, giving him a chance to raise his stock ahead of the MLB Draft this summer.

Riojas has, for lack of a better term, aced nearly all of his tests up to this point, helping him fly up draft boards. One of the biggest things standing in the way of Riojas and hearing his name called in the early rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft is the fact that he is a senior. However, with another strong showing this weekend against a prominent Aggies lineup, the experienced right-hander could raise his draft ceiling even more.

Killing Two Birds with One Stone

In eight starts this season, Riojas has only one outing with fewer than six strikeouts. That outing just happens to be his most recent one, as he was pulled in the third inning after allowing six earned runs on eight hits against South Carolina. Even with that outing, the Longhorns ace will enter tonight with a 2.74 ERA, 1.36 FIP, and 68 strikeouts in 42.2 innings of work.

With those numbers, PerfectGame has Riojas ranked 60th, and Over Slot Baseball has him 48th in their respective Top 300 for the 2026 Draft. In a hypothetical world, if the draft were to feature limited surprises, those rankings would land Riojas somewhere in the second round. Of course, a lot can change between now and then, and the opportunity to sneak into the Comp-A round is a possibility for the Texas right-hander.

Texas RHP Ruger Riojas is back in the Top 100 after a hot start in 2026. Up almost 70 spots. Riojas is routinely in the upper-90s and throwing the kitchen sink.

He’s once again positioning himself as a second or third round pick.

👇FULL TOP 250👇pic.twitter.com/cCtPsdareB

— Over-Slot Baseball (@OverSlot_) March 2, 2026

If a team like the Kansas City Royals or St. Louis Cardinals takes a prep player with their first-round pick, they could target Riojas with their Comp-A pick to save bonus pool money for that prep selection. For that to be the case, though, Riojas will need to continue to prove he can handle elite lineups like the one he will face this weekend in College Station.

According to CollegeBaseballInsiders, the Aggies are 10th in the country in wRC+ (136) and wOBA (.422). Texas A&M’s lineup will also give scouts a good idea of how elite Riojas’ command really is, as the Aggies are 11th in walk rate (15.5%). Beating a lineup of that caliber will continue to force organizations to discuss where they can draft him, and it will also give the Longhorns some momentum in a hostile environment.

Ruger Riojas Draft Stock History

Last season, Riojas was a mid-tier draft prospect, but he decided to spend another season in the Longhorns’ pitching lab. In 18 appearances and 69 innings in 2025, the right-hander posted a 62:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while opponents hit .257 off him. Riojas was able to exceed his strikeout total from last season in fewer innings, in large part thanks to his jump in velocity this season. Scouts at Perfect Game had Riojas sitting 92-93 in most starts in 2025, but this season he’s been sitting 95-96 and even touching 97.

Outside of his four-seam fastball, Riojas has five other pitches, including a cutter, sinker, change-up, and sweeper. The added velocity has sharpened his arsenal enough for him to rank 7th in the country in K% (39.1%), per FanGraphs.

In his third start of the 2026 season, Riojas took the hill against Coastal Carolina at Daikin Park in Houston. Given the location, StatCast data for that 11-strikeout outing is available, and shows that he managed a 107 tjStuff+, which would be slightly above league average for an MLB starting pitcher. With numbers like that, Riojas’s decision to bet on himself and return to school may outweigh concerns about his draft age.

 

Main Photo Credit: © Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images