Rangers Land Second Top 100 After Orioles Rookie Graduates from Rankings

While much of the prospect buzz for the Texas Rangers has been taken up by shortstop Sebastian Walcott, another one has been lurking in the background.

Over the weekend, he got his share of attention. Rangers pitching prospect Caden Scarborough is now a Top 100 prospect per MLB Pipeline. His move into the Top 100 happened because Baltimore Orioles prospect Samuel Basallo graduated from prospect status.

This means that Scarborough was just outside the Top 100 when MLB Pipeline released its new rankings earlier this year. Basallo is at least the third prospect to graduate since the regular season started.

Prospects graduate when they lose their rookie eligibility, which includes more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the MLB roster.

Caden Scarborough, Top 100 Prospect

Scarborough wasn’t listed on the Rangers’ break camp rosters, which were released last week. That means he hasn’t been assigned to an affiliate for 2026. He’s still in Arizona working through extended spring training after he showed up a bit late for minor league camp. He has surgery in February to remove a melanoma discovered during a routine exam.

When he is ready, he may return to High-A Hub City, where he ended 2025, or be sent to Double-A Frisco, which would be his first promotion to one of the Rangers’ two higher-tiered minor league affiliates. He’s just 20 years old and ended up with Texas as a sixth-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft out of Harmony High School in Harmony, Fla.

He landed as the No. 2 Rangers prospect to start this season based on his exceptional numbers outside of his win-loss record last season, which was 2-5. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 21 stats and struck out 114 in just 88 innings. He also walked just 21 hitters. That’s a 4-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio that would play at an elite level in the Majors. Additionally, he had a .181 opponent batting average and a 0.88 WHIP.

He’s primarily a two-pitch starter for now, with a fastball that can catch 97 mph and a slider that hits the low 80s with significant sweeping action. Adding a change-up is next on his to-do list, per MLB scouts.

Scarborough’s development is key for the Rangers, who gave up significant left-handed pitching assets last year in trades to bolster a failed shot at a playoff berth. Notably, Texas gave up three Top 15 left-handed pitching prospects for veteran Merrill Kelly — Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and David Hagaman.