SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Rangers pitching prospect Caden Scarborough was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma after going in for a routine scan this offseason. He had surgery on Feb. 2 to have it removed and has just arrived in Surprise.
“It's been … not easy, I'll be honest,” Scarborough said. “I’ve been kind of taking it day by day. Obviously, having the support system around me, the Rangers have been amazing with coordinating and navigating the process. I’m just kind of taking it day by day, that's been the best thing I know.”
Scarborough -- the Rangers’ No. 6 prospect following the 2025 season per MLB Pipeline -- said he likely wouldn’t have even gone in to get this spot on his neck checked out if his mother wouldn’t have pressed him to.
Following surgery, the plan is for Scarborough to do immunotherapy in order to reduce risk of recurrence. He is expected to have a regular build up from here on out and he will break camp with an affiliate.
“Obviously [baseball] was one of my biggest concerns when it first popped up,” Scarborough said. “I asked the doctors, obviously, any questions I had. They all said it shouldn't affect anything. Like I said, taking it day by day and listening to my body is the best thing I can do right now. … I’m just getting back into it. These last couple weeks, I haven't really been able to do much after surgery. It was kind of hard to move around and stuff. I’m just kind of building back up and getting ready for the season.”
Scarborough was the Rangers’ sixth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and has quickly risen through prospect rankings over the last two seasons. Throughout his career, which includes 2025 stops at Single-A Hickory and High-A Hub City, the right-hander has a 2.93 ERA over 98 1/3 innings.
He’s expected to build up and progress normally throughout camp, as allowed.
“His health is priority number one,” said general manager Ross Fenstermaker. “We’ve got some of the world’s best working on this, alongside us, walking us through it. It's somewhat uncharted territory for us. That being said, we’ve got a great medical team and great people involved in this process. We’re making sure that we're treating the person as much as we're treating the player here.”