Pascagoula, Mississippi native Joe Scarborough made himself a name among the Mississippi and around the scouting circuit with his ability to impact the game on both sides of the ball. Behind the plate, he stood out with a strong and accurate At the plate, his left-handed swing made plenty of loud contact and was the bane of many a pitcher. On the mound, he showcased a high-80s fastball he could spot to all four quadrants of the zone and a solid slider that he could also command. Over the course of his four years at Resurrection Catholic High School, he hit .339/.461/.536 over the course of his 107 game high school career with 20 doubles, 9 triples, 7 home runs, 21 stolen bases, and 65 walks to 66 strikeouts while posting a 1.48 ERA over 85.1 innings with 54 hits allowed, 36 walks, and 118 strikeouts.
Undrafted in the 2022 MLB Draft, Scarborough attended East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi. Head coach Brett Kimbre continued using Scarborough as a two-way player in 2023 and 2024. At the plate in 2023, he hit .239/.350/.537 in 67 at-bats over 40 games with 1 double, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 6 stolen bases, and 12 walks to 22 strikeouts, and in 2024, he hit .245/.351/.529 in 155 at-bats over 47 games with 7 doubles, 5 triples, 9 home runs, 5 stolen bases, and 23 walks to 40 strikeouts. On the mound, he posted a 7.12 ERA in 30.1 innings over 12 games in 2023, allowing 35 hits, walking 18, and striking out 27, while in 2024, he posted a 5.63 ERA in 16.0 innings over 10 games with 14 hits allowed, 10 walks, and 19 strikeouts.
Going undrafted in both of his seasons at East Mississippi Community College, Scarborough transferred to Jacksonville State University for his junior year in 2025. Appearing in 19 games and eventually taking over as team closer, Scarborough posted a 7.36 ERA in 18.1 innings for the Gamecocks, allowing 22 hits, walking 21, and striking out 14.
The 6’3”, 200-pound right-hander throws from a low-three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action through the back. His whippy arm sometimes throws across his body, negatively impacting his command and control.
The right-hander’s fastball sits in the mid-90s with arm-side life and has reportedly touched as high as 98 MPH this past season with Jacksonville State. The pitch regularly registers spin rates measuring between 2400-2500 RPM, and thanks to his relatively flat vertical approach angle, produces double-digit induced vertical break readings up in the zone. He complements it with a low-to-mid-80s slider that is an effective strikeout pitch both inside and outside of the zone.
