Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Hello and welcome to the Dynasty Baseball Pickups written series! Unlike Taylor, I haven’t been able to pull off many trades this week, but I was able to make one deal to help bolster my offense on a strong contender by trading away Jared Jones for Yandy Diaz and a draft pick. I still really like Jones, but I have a plethora of strong pitching in that league, and the return from elbow surgery can always be a bit murky, so it was a move I felt I could afford to make. I hope I can make a few more deals before the deadlines in all my respective leagues, but only time will tell. Moving on to what you are all here for, this weekend’s article features another Yankees outfielder who’s been flying under the radar, a pair of arms from organizations whose pitching dev continues to be thought of more and more highly, and a couple of Angels on the infield in the DSL. In some ways, you could say I’m digging pretty deep for the names in this week’s article, with only one player being ranked in our July update to the top 600 (and even that player was outside the top 500), but I believe a couple of these prospects deserve to be rostered in much shallower leagues than their rankings would imply. Now let’s get into the names you need to know.
*Note: all stats current through Friday, August 15/25 and all minor league Statcast figures are sourced from TJ Stats unless otherwise stated.
Scarborough, a sixth-round pick out of high school by the Rangers in 2023, was well regarded at the time thanks to his lanky, projectable, 6’5” frame, low release height, seven plus feet of extension, and ability to spin his curveball. We didn’t see much from him in game action in 2024, though, as the Rangers seemingly kept his work behind the scenes instead, and it appears to be paying dividends. He threw just 90 mph at that time, but has since added significant weight to his frame, and with it, his stuff has ticked up. He now sits mid to upper 90s out of a quick arm stroke with arm-side run, has replaced the curveball with an impressive sweeper that remains high spin, and has flashed a splitter that he continues to work on.
The other major development this year compared to the small sample of official game action he saw in 2024 is the command; he threw just 60% of his pitches for strikes in last year’s small sample, but that number has shot up to 67.5% this season and in turn he has seen his walk rate sliced from 17% to 6.5%.
Scarborough has been especially dominant as of late, working with a 0.79 ERA and 0.61 WHIP since June 29th, racking up 39 Ks and allowing just 6 BBs over 34.1 IP in that span. His most recent outing, on August 14th, was one of his most dominant of the year as he spun five shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and the lone baserunner on his ledger reaching base via a walk.
Why To Think Twice
As impressive as the strides have been, this is still a relatively small track record for a young arm who has seen his stuff tick up significantly. While that bump in stuff raises his ceiling, it also raises the risk of injury. He’s also been allowing his fair share of home runs with seven in his 75 innings of work, good for a 13.2% HR/FB rate. I’m being a little nitpicky with the HRs because there really isn’t much to complain about in the statistical profile; they aren’t a serious problem, but I would like to see him keep the ball in the yard a little better going forward.
Final Thoughts
The Texas Rangers are quickly becoming a trusted pitching factory - even after trading away arms like Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt at the deadline, they continue to demonstrate their ability to draft and develop exceptional arm talent. Scarborough is among the next wave of that talent and is still flying relatively under the radar with just a 5% roster rate. However, don’t be fooled - this is a fast-rising arm who should be owned in leagues with as few as 200 or more prospects rostered. I grabbed as many shares as I could while preparing this article, and I recommend you do the same.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 200+ prospects rostered
FAAB bid: Minimal (0-5%)
Sign up for Prospects Live
Your one stop shop for Dynasty Fantasy Baseball, MLB Draft, Baseball Card & MiLB Baseball content. Blending Data & Scouting into our Player Evaluation
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
