2023 draft pick recovering from melanoma removal
Caden Scarborough graduated from Harmony High in 2023, when he was the News-Gazette's Player of the Year in basketball and baseball. (Photo/Katie Williams)
Harmony High alum and Texas Rangers minor leaguer Caden Scarborough’s ascent to the big leagues took another major leap forward this week when it was announced that he will represent the American League and the Texas Rangers in the 2026 Futures All-Star Game.
The game is part of the Major League All-Star Game weekend in Philadelphia and will air on NBC on Sunday, July 12 at noon. The seven-inning game features some of baseball’s op minor league prospects.
“Caden was scheduled to pitch on the Friday before the Futures Game and I’m not sure whether they will change his schedule or not. Whether he actually pitches in the game or not remains to be seen but the fact that he was named to the squad is a huge honor,” Harmony baseball coach Heath Williams said. “It really points out that he is considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball.”
Scarborough graduated from Harmony in 2023 and was a sixth-round pick (171st overall) of the Rangers following his senior year.
Scarborough burst on the scene professionally in 2025. Splitting time between Hickory (Low A) and Hub City (High A), he put together a tremendous 2.16 ERA with 114 strikeouts and only 21 walks in 88 innings. That performance rocketed him up to No. 66 on Major League Baseball’s Top 100 Prospects list.
Unfortunately, Scarborough suffered a setback in the off-season when a malignant melanoma was discovered during a routine scan. He had surgery on Feb. 2 to have it removed and continues to receive therapy to prevent a reoccurrence.
After treatment, he made two starts in rookie ball before returning to the Hub City Spartanburgers of the South Atlantic League, where he made his season debut on May 29. In five starts he has a 3.25 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. His best outing came on June 19, where he allowed one run and struck out nine in four innings of work as he continues to build up strength since the surgery.
“I spoke to him last week and he’s doing well,” Williams said. “He says he’s continuing to build up his arm strength but still hasn’t gotten his fastball back. But he’s been working on his other pitches and is still performing at a high level.”
Mom Katrina Scarborough said his folks are looking forward to traveling to Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Park for the Futures Game.
“He’s still being monitored but he’s doing really well and staying healthy,” she said. “he was definitely not expecting to be selected but we are all extremely excited and honored h was.”
Williams added that he knew Scarborough had potential since his final year at Harmony, when he struck out 70 batters in 38 1/3 innings. Scarborough was the team’s starting shortstop when not on the mound and hit .423. He was the Osceola-News Gazette’s Player of the Year in both baseball and basketball his senior year.
