BA GRADE
40
Risk: Medium
Born: Dec. 17, 1993. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 225. Drafted: Virginia, 2015 (2nd round supplemental). Signed by: Clair Rierson.
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.
Year |
Club (League) |
Class |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
2015 |
Ogden (PIO) |
R |
0 |
1 |
4.50 |
2 |
1 |
|
Great Lakes (MWL) |
LoA |
0 |
1 |
2.84 |
2 |
2 |
|
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
HiA |
0 |
0 |
1.50 |
9 |
0 |
2016 |
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
HiA |
8 |
4 |
2.66 |
20 |
19 |
|
Tulsa (TL) |
AA |
0 |
1 |
3.78 |
10 |
0 |
2017 |
Tulsa (TL) |
AA |
8 |
8 |
3.86 |
24 |
24 |
Minor League Totals |
16 |
15 |
3.24 |
67 |
46 |
||
Year |
Club (League) |
CG |
SV |
IP |
H |
HR |
2015 |
Ogden (PIO) |
0 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
|
Great Lakes (MWL) |
0 |
0 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
|
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
0 |
2 |
12 |
12 |
1 |
2016 |
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
0 |
0 |
108 |
82 |
8 |
|
Tulsa (TL) |
0 |
1 |
17 |
17 |
2 |
2017 |
Tulsa (TL) |
0 |
0 |
117 |
106 |
8 |
Minor League Totals |
0 |
3 |
264 |
224 |
21 |
|
Year |
Club (League) |
BB |
SO |
K/9 |
WHIP |
AVG |
2015 |
Ogden (PIO) |
4 |
4 |
9.0 |
1.50 |
.167 |
|
Great Lakes (MWL) |
2 |
9 |
12.8 |
1.11 |
.185 |
|
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
3 |
12 |
9.0 |
1.25 |
.255 |
2016 |
R. Cucamonga (CAL) |
30 |
108 |
9.0 |
1.03 |
.207 |
|
Tulsa (TL) |
6 |
17 |
9.2 |
1.38 |
.258 |
2017 |
Tulsa (TL) |
56 |
81 |
6.2 |
1.39 |
.243 |
Minor League Totals |
101 |
231 |
7.9 |
1.23 |
.227 |
|