Josh Sborz Stats & Scouting Report

IP	16.1
ERA	3.86
WHIP	1.22
BB/9	2.2
SO/9	9.37

Full name Joshua Alan Sborz
Born 12/17/1993 in Washington, DC
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Virginia
Debut 06/20/2019
Drafted in the CB-B round (74th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 (signed for $722,500).

View Draft Report

The younger brother of one-time major leaguer and second-round pick Jay Sborz, Josh has the potential to be the second in his family to reach the big league. The younger Sborz has bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen for Virginia, and scouts have had ample time to evaluate him in both places. Sborz has a less than conventional delivery, with a stab in the back followed by a deep finish out front that makes his stuff difficult to square up. His fastball works mostly at 90-94 mph, but can reach 95 and the pitch features late life, which allows Sborz to generate poor contact. His best offspeed pitch is his slider, which plays as an above-average pitch because of how late it breaks, but the pitch lacks the shape and depth of the standard swing-and-miss slider. Sborz tends to struggle with fastball command, sometimes elevating the offering and running into trouble. Even so, many scouts believe Sborz has the stuff, as well as the body, to make it as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: Sborz won Most Outstanding Player at the 2015 College World Series as Virginia's relief ace. The Dodgers drafted him in the second round that summer and tried to develop him as a starter, but Sborz returned to relief in 2018 and moved to the doorstep of the majors. After some initial bumps at Triple-A, he held opponents scoreless in 12 of his final 15 appearances and didn't allow a hit in three playoff outings.

Scouting Report: Sborz sat in the low 90s as a starter but ticked up in relief. His fastball sits 94-95 mph out of the bullpen and frequently gets to 96-97. Sborz comes straight over the top and powers his fastball downhill to both corners, although it occasionally sails on him. Sborz's vertical upper 80s slider is a plus pitch at its best, but his command of it inconsistent. When it's on, he looks the part of a late-inning reliever with two plus pitches and a competitive streak. Sborz is capable of pitching back-to-back days and can go multiple innings if needed.

The Future: Sborz's move to relief fits squarely with the Dodgers bullpen needs. He was added to the 40-man roster after the season and will likely make his ML debut in 2019.
Sborz carried Virginia to the 2015 national championship as the Cavaliers' relief ace and was named the College World Series' Most Outstanding Player. The Dodgers drafted him the supplemental second round, signed him for $722,500 and made him a starter, a role in which he pitched the entire season at Double-A Tulsa in 2017. Sborz, whose older brother Jay pitched for the Tigers in 2010, lacks overwhelming stuff but keeps runs off the board. His fastball sits 92-94 mph with armside run, and his out pitch is an above-average slider with depth and late break. His fastball command isn't sharp, however, and his slider is inconsistent. As such, he struggled to the highest walk rate (4.3 per nine innings) and lowest strikeout rate (6.3) of his career in 2017. Sborz is an elite competitor with moxie and guile, though, and frequently pitched his way out of jams. He has a top-to-bottom curveball and changeup that flashes average, but neither are particularly reliable. Sborz's lack of swing-and-miss stuff and shifty control prevent him from projecting as a major league starter, but his fastball gets up to 97 mph in relief and gives him a possible future there.
Sborz won the won the 2015 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award, then signed with the Dodgers for $772,500 as the No. 74 overall pick in the draft. Sborz, whose brother Jay pitched in one major league game for the Tigers in 2010, was mostly a reliever at Virginia, but the Dodgers developed him as a starter with high Class A Rancho Cucamonga in 2016. However, when the Dodgers promoted Sborz to Double-A Tulsa in August, they moved him back to the bullpen to curb his workload. A relief role may ultimately suit Sborz best. As a starter he sits at 91-94 mph with good armside run, though in short bursts out of the bullpen he can crank it up to 97 mph. His out pitch is an above-average slider with good depth and late break. Sborz has a four-pitch mix, but his fringe-average curveball and below-average changeup don't grade out as well as his fastball and slider. There's some violence to Sborz's arm action and effort in his delivery. He throws strikes but needs to tighten his fastball command. Sborz could fit well in a middle relief role, with a chance he could get to Los Angeles by the end of the 2017 season.
With Walker Buehler having Tommy John surgery and Kyle Funkhouser returning to Louisville, the top arm the Dodgers acquired in the 2015 draft who will pitch for the organization in 2016 is Sborz, who signed for $722,500 as the No. 74 overall pick. Sborz, whose older brother Jay made one big league appearance with the Tigers in 2010, worked primarily as a reliever at Virginia, but the Dodgers plan to develop him as a starter, a role he held his sophomore year. His fastball ranges anywhere from 90-97 mph with late life, and he sat toward the upper end of that range at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga in the California League playoffs. His above-average slider has good, late bite and depth, and he has feel to spin a curveball, too. Sborz stabs with his arm action in the back and has effort in his delivery, so smoothing that out will be a focal point to help him repeat his mechanics and improve his command. Sborz might ultimately end up in the bullpen, but working as a starter in the minors will give him a chance to work on his delivery and improve his below-average changeup. That should slow his timetable somewhat, though he could move quickly if the Dodgers decide to put him back into a relief role.

Draft Prospects

The younger brother of one-time major leaguer and second-round pick Jay Sborz, Josh has the potential to be the second in his family to reach the big league. The younger Sborz has bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen for Virginia, and scouts have had ample time to evaluate him in both places. Sborz has a less than conventional delivery, with a stab in the back followed by a deep finish out front that makes his stuff difficult to square up. His fastball works mostly at 90-94 mph, but can reach 95 and the pitch features late life, which allows Sborz to generate poor contact. His best offspeed pitch is his slider, which plays as an above-average pitch because of how late it breaks, but the pitch lacks the shape and depth of the standard swing-and-miss slider. Sborz tends to struggle with fastball command, sometimes elevating the offering and running into trouble. Even so, many scouts believe Sborz has the stuff, as well as the body, to make it as a back-of-the-rotation starter.
Sborz is the younger brother of Jay Sborz, a second-round draft pick of the Tigers in 2003 who made the big leagues in 2010 but logged just two-thirds of an inning and hasn't pitched professionally since that season. The younger Sborz isn't on the same level, but is a solid prospect in his own right. He has arm strength and sits 87-89 mph, shows 89-91 on occasion and can touch 93-94. He has a good changeup in the low 80s and a mid-70s curveball that has shown sharp break. He is committed to Virginia.

Minor League Top Prospects

The 2015 College World Series Most Outstanding Player has bounced back and forth between starting and relieving since the Dodgers drafted him No. 74 overall last summer. Sborz started exclusively at Rancho Cucamonga and recorded a 2.66 ERA that led the Cal League at the time of his early-August promotion to Double-A. His 84-87 mph slider was voted the league's best breaking pitch in Best Tools balloting, and the pitch worked well off his 92-94 mph fastball that bears in on righthanders. He won the league's pitcher of the year award. Sborz's 79-80 mph curveball and rarely-used changeup grade well behind his other two pitches, which leads many evaluators to project him to the bullpen, a role he filled exclusively in Double-A.

Career Transactions

Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Frisco RoughRiders.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Frisco RoughRiders.
Texas Rangers placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list retroactive to August 8, 2024. Right shoulder fatigue.
Texas Rangers activated RHP Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list. Right rotator cuff strain.
Texas Rangers activated RHP Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Frisco RoughRiders.
Texas Rangers placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list. Right rotator cuff strain.
Texas Rangers activated RHP Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 12, 2023. Right biceps tendinitis.
Texas Rangers activated RHP Josh Sborz from the 15-day injured list.
Texas Rangers sent RHP Josh Sborz on a rehab assignment to Round Rock Express.
Texas Rangers placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27, 2023. Left ankle sprain.