(F)arm Double Feature: Caden Scarborough & David Davalillo

Troubled with which Rangers Top 10 prospect I should tune into tonight, I did as one does, and simply put Caden Scarborough on my left monitor and David Davalillo on my right monitor. It was quite the sight to see as both proved exactly why they're both so highly regarded in the Rangers farm system.

Caden Scarborough was on the mound for Hickory vs the Charleston RiverDogs, coming off a recent stretch where he has been, to put in no uncertain terms, utterly dominant. It was a bit of a turbulent start to the year for Scarborough as after June he had an ERA of 4.23, and had not yet had an outing where he pitched beyond the 4th inning. However, that was hardly concerning, as you could certainly see the flashes of the ++ traits that had the Rangers sign Scarborough for an over-slot $515,000 after drafting him in the 6th round of the 2023 draft. Scarborough was a pitcher who flew under the radar most of his high school career, but the Rangers loved his projectable frame and were able to lure him away from his Dallas Baptist commitment.

Scarborough struggled mightily with command during his 2024 debut season, as he put up a 17% walk rate in his 10.1 innings; a season shortened by a strained lat issue. Coming into 2025 however, it was apparent that Scarborough was primed for a breakout year. He added 30 pounds to his 6-foot-5 frame, and it came with increased velocity on his fastball. He went from sitting around 89-91 to now regularly hitting 92-95 topping out at 97, and there's still more velocity to be had as he continues to fill out his frame. Scarborough's fastball shines due to his elite extension, as well as the carry and run he's able to generate from his low release height. He has a sweeper that can sometimes be inconsistent in shape, but it's improved tremendously over just this one season. It grades out as an above average pitch with potential to be ++ and he's able to locate it very well. His third pitch is a splitter that he's incorporated this year as a pitch for lefties that he'll need if he wants to stick as a starter. The splitter has a bit of an inconsistent shape as to be expected, but there are moments where you really can see the depth he's able to achieve. At the moment it's more of a soft contact pitch vs chasing whiffs, but because of the arm speed Scarborough is able to generate, the potential is there and I'm excited to watch its development.

Tonight was just about as dominant as you could imagine for Scarborough. He began the game with 4 straight strikeouts, and had 5 strikeouts after 3 innings. He had the RiverDogs hitters off balance all night as he collected 4 strikeouts looking and 3 strikeouts swinging to end the night with a line of 5 innings pitched, zero hits, zero runs, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts as he lowered his season ERA to 2.88. Since June 29th, Scarborough has pitched 34 1/3 innings to the tune of a 0.79 ERA along with 6 walks to 39 strikeouts. After not having a single outing through June where he pitched more than 4 innings, Scarborough has gone at least 5 innings in 4 of his 6 starts since (excluding the 1 inning post-ASB appearance). His command has mightily improved as well, as he's currently sporting a 31.7% K% and a 6.5% BB%. It's not difficult to see why Caden Scarborough is highly regarded in the Rangers farm, and it would not surprise me in the least to see him as a consensus Top 100 prospect going into next season.

Moving onto David Davalillo, the Venezuelan right-hander took the ball for Frisco in his 8th appearance for the club since his promotion from High-A Hub City. Some background on Davalillo, out of Venezuela he signed with the New York Mets in 2021 for $30,000. That deal ended up being voided 2 months later and the Rangers signed Davalillo for $10,000 in June of 2022. He spent 2 years playing in Rookie ball, aside from one start at Low-A Down East at the end of the 2023 season. Davalillo really burst onto the scene in 2024 when he put up a 1.88 ERA in 110.1 innings across Down East and High-A Hickory, striking out 113 and walking only 32. He carried that momentum into the 2025 season, and through 89.2 innings across High-A Hub City and AA Frisco, Davalillo has struck out 101 and walked 23 to a tune of a 1.91 ERA, 2.80 FIP, and a 0.86 WHIP. He's holding opponents to a staggering .170 batting average, along with a 30.7% K% and a 7.1% BB%.

Davalillo currently sports a six pitch mix. Prior to his promotion to Frisco, he throws a fastball, sinker, curveball, slider, and splitter. However, since he arrived in Frisco, he's introduced a cutter into his repertoire as well which has some promising early results to the tune of a 50% whiff rate during his first start. He throws both of his fastballs in the low to mid 90's, and they'll touch 96. His sweeper lives in the low 80's, and his curveball is in the mid to high 70's range. The splitter hovers in the mid 80's, and his new cutter is pretty consistently in the 89-91 range. Opinions of his best pitch can vary between who you ask, but most would agree that it's the splitter. Last year he generated a 58% whiff rate on that pitch alone, and after watching it, it's easy can see why. He does have a slightly inconsistent shape, as sometimes it can break glove-side, but he locates it very well and is able to throw it just over 1,000 RPMs (which is one of the causes for the rare glove-side break). Disgusting, some may call it.

If I can speak bluntly for a moment, David Davalillo is an animal on the mound (in the best way possible). I don't think that it's physically possible for anything to phase him. In his previous start in the 3rd inning, Davalillo started the inning by allowing what I personally felt to be a 5-strike walk, followed by an error in right field to put runners on 2nd and 3rd base with zero outs in the inning. Davalillo proceeded to then strike out the side in order, getting out of the inning unscathed; rightfully screaming as he left the mound, preserving the zero on the scoreboard. So tonight vs the Midland RockHounds was nothing new for Davalillo, as this time in the 4th inning he allowed a first-pitch single to left field, and then a double down the left field line to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with zero outs. Unfazed, Davalillo then got a sharp ground ball to 2nd base that froze the runner at 3rd for 1 out. Now with the infield in, Davalillo got a first-pitch ground ball to 1st base who then threw the runner out at home to preserve the zero. 2 pitches later Davalillo was able to get out of the inning on a fly out to right field, getting out of the inning without allowing a run to score.

On the night, Davalillo finished with 1 strikeout, which on paper is not very impressive. However, when you take into account that he pitched 7 innings (tying a career-high), allowed only 3 hits, didn't walk a single batter, and only threw 76 pitches, it's an incredibly efficient and gritty outing. Davalillo posted a 67.1% Strike%, and lowered his Frisco ERA to an absolutely disgusting 1.63, along with a WHIP of 0.91, and an Opp. Avg. of .170. Everything about David Davalillo is an anomaly. His mechanics are so whippy that it should not be possible for him to repeat his delivery as well as he does, he should not be able to command the zone as well as he does, and he should not be able to throw strikes with all 6 of his pitches. Yet, he does so in every game he plays. He has an incredibly cerebral feel for sequencing and tunneling his pitches; so much so that I would say he by far is the best in the farm when it comes to that feel for pitching. In the minor leagues you'll see a lot of throwers. Next week, be sure to watch David Davalillo's start if you're wanting to see a true "pitcher," as well as most likely the next man up in the Rangers farm system along with Jose Corniell who will make a real push for big league innings next year.