Caden Scarborough did not allow a run over 13 innings of work in his first stint at High-A Hub City in 2025.
His path back to the level came with an offseason scare when the Rangers' No. 2 prospect had surgery to remove a malignant melanoma in his neck in early February. He has since returned to the mound, building up with two appearances in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League earlier this month.
Friday night marked MLB’s No. 77 prospect’s first action in a Spartanburgers uniform since Sept. 11 of last season. The right-hander tallied four innings of work where he allowed just one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts in a 4-0 loss to Greensboro at First National Bank Field.
"It felt amazing," Scarborough said of his start on Hub City's pregame radio show Saturday. "Got what I needed to in Arizona, but there's no better feeling than pitching in front of a crowd. It felt awesome."
Scarborough features two 60-grade pitches in his fastball and slider. The 21-year-old recorded all three of his strikeouts on that slider in his return to High-A. He flashed the stuff that can allow him to build on a career 11.5 K/9 entering Friday night's start.
COMPLETE RANGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
The right-hander got himself back on throwing schedule following the procedure, doing so on a different timeline than a normal buildup to the season.
"I couldn't do anything for three-ish weeks, maybe four, just because obviously they wanted everything to heal correctly," Scarborough reflected. "Just kind of eased into it. Just started the regular buildup. The 60 feet, 75 feet, 90 feet, all the good stuff. Then threw bullpens live and obviously threw a couple outings in Arizona and now we're here."
Scarborough praised the constant support of his parents, his fiancé and the Rangers organization throughout his recovery process. Now, he finds himself back on the rise with a real future ahead on the mound.
Texas selected Scarborough in the sixth round of the Draft in 2023 as a talented high school arm from the Florida prep ranks. The righty started his professional progression in 2024 with stops for the ACL Rangers and then-Single-A Down East. Scarborough really found a groove in the 2025 season between time for Single-A Hickory and Hub City, where in 88 innings, he struck out 114 batters and walked just 21.