No. 2 Caden Scarborough could be a future rotation anchor

SURPRISE, Ariz. — In late January, after the Texas Rangers swung a deal that sent significant prospect capital east to improve the major league roster, general manager Ross Fenstermaker rationalized the club’s moves as “the price we pay in order to compete.”

Oh, yeah, they’ve paid a price.

The Rangers have dealt eight top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline’s evaluations, since last summer’s trade deadline. They shipped three to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Merrill Kelly to bolster their rotation midseason and another five to the Washington Nationals for MacKenzie Gore last month to do the same thing. That’s the cost of big league improvement.

It’ll also ding the depth of a farm system. The Rangers have the No. 22 farm system per ESPN, the No. 24 farm system per Baseball America and the No. 25 farm system per USA TODAY. The success of the farm system, much like the major league roster, will be predicated on how a number of position player prospects respond to down seasons.

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Baseball America, which hasn’t ranked the club’s system this low since the 2021 season, said it “needs major rebounds from its near-proximity prospects to supplement the big league roster.”

Their collective progression will determine where the farm stands this time next year. Until then, we continue our daily countdown of The Dallas Morning News’ top 30 prospects.

No. 2: RHP Caden Scarborough

Age: 20

Height/weight: 6-5, 185

B/T: R/R

Who he is: The Rangers selected Scarborough in the sixth round (172nd overall) of the 2023 MLB draft and gave him an over-slot $515,000 bonus to keep him from Dallas Baptist. He added weight to his lanky frame, refined his pitch mix and blossomed into the club’s consensus top pitching prospect. He’s one of two Rangers prospects listed on Baseball America’s top 100 at No. 65.

Why he’s here: The Rangers drafted a potential franchise cornerstone hitter three years ago when they selected outfielder Wyatt Langford in the first round. Scarborough, a Florida high schooler, came from the same draft and could potentially anchor the rotation for years to come if his full potential is realized.

It’s unfair to compare a second consecutive prospect to right-hander Jacob deGrom (see: AJ Russell) but the two-time Cy Young Award winner and Scarborough share similarities. Scarborough is also a long, lanky right-hander from central Florida, and like deGrom, his fastball is a real weapon. It runs in the mid-90s and reached 97 mph last season, and alongside a reworked slider, it created a combination that helped Scarborough dominate his first full professional season last year.

Scarborough posted a 2.45 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 88 innings split between Low-A Hickory and High-A Hub City last season. He was young for the South Atlantic league after his promotion but still logged a 19-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 shutout innings.

What’s his future: Scarborough reported to camp late this spring after he had a malignant melanoma removed from his neck. He’ll still need to undergo monthly immunotherapy treatments to prevent a recurrence of the issue. He turns 21 years old in April, and should he perform well once again at Hub City, he could work his way up to Double-A Frisco before season’s end. The next step in his development? Continued development of his secondary pitches to allow his elite fastball an even greater runway for success.

Where he’ll start; MLB ETA; High-A Hub City; 2028

Rangers’ top 30 prospects

No. 30: RHP Mason McConnaughey

No. 29: OF Braylin Morel

No. 28: RHP Frandel Pineda

No. 27: LHP Josh Trentadue

No. 26: RHP Paul Bonzagni

No. 25: OF Maxton Martin

No. 24: LHP Ben Abeldt

No. 23: OF Paulino Santana

No. 22: LHP Dalton Pence

No. 21: RHP Izack Tiger