Right-hander Andre Scrubb was selected by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the 2016 First-Year player draft out of High Point University in North Carolina.

Scrubb was born in Woodbridge, Virginia and attended C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, where he was a four-year letter winner. In his senior year with the Bulldogs he was 6-2 with a 1.57 ERA and 59 strikeouts. At the plate, he hit .395 with 23 runs batted in.

He had a three-year college career with High Point University in which he recorded a 4.28 ERA with 16 wins over 187 innings pitched. He struck out 187 and struggled with control walking 114.

Scrubb was initially disappointed that he slipped to the eighth round in the draft after thinking he had a chance of being selected in the top five rounds. However, he was thrilled that he went to the Dodgers.

“They seem to develop pitchers and have the best pitcher in the game,” Scrubb said, in reference to Clayton Kershaw. “To even get around guys who have met [Kershaw] will be great. It’s just a class organization.”

Andre Scrubb
(Photo credit – Rianna Riveros)

Scrubb has a Kenley Jansen-like body, with a fastball at times touching up from 95 mph. Although his fastball has caught most of the attention, the 6’4”/265-pound Scrubb has another pitch that is his out-pitch. He considers his curveball to be his best pitch. It is, in fact, considered to be a power curveball thrown in the 78-83 mph range. As a result, his strikeout rate has always been high. However, so has his walk rate.

Dodgers Director of Amateur Scouting Billy Gasparino was pleased to be able to select Scrubb even though his walk rate may well have deterred other teams from drafting him, especially within the first ten rounds. Gasparino feels the Dodgers development program can over time help Scrubb cut down on his walk rate.

“He’s a big, right-handed pitcher with plus velocity, has a really good breaking ball. His strikeout rate was very high. We think we have a few ways we can help him more, get even more strikes, repeat his delivery better, and we’re looking forward to having our player-development staff work with this one.”

Scrubb made his professional debut with the Arizona League Dodgers on July 2, 2016, pitching a scoreless inning against the AZL Brewers. On the season in the Arizona Rookie League he posted a 2.13 ERA in 10 games while striking out 18 in 12.2 innings pitched. He walked seven.

The 22-year-old Scrubb reported to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League in 2017 after about a month at extended spring training. He made his Class-A debut on May 12 pitching two scoreless innings against the Clinton LumberKings.

He was a welcome addition to the Loons bullpen and has proven to be an important member of the Loons relief corps, often being called on in the later innings of a game and for two innings in six of his outings.

On the season Scrubb has pitched 17.1 innings over 11 appearances recording 17 strikeouts while walking 14. His walks mean he is frequently working with a man on base yet he has given up a run in only three of his 11 appearances. In his last nine innings, he has walked seven of his opponents but given up no runs. His secret is that he is almost unhittable at times. In those nine innings, he gave up only two hits and on the season, has held opposing hitters to a .151 batting average while recording a 1.56 ERA.

Scrubb’s change-up and his control are works in progress which will make life even more difficult for hitters as he refines them and climbs the ladder in the Dodgers farm system.