Well it just seems like a perfect time to bring back the first ever series I did for Royals Farm Report last year! One of my favorite things about following Royals minor league baseball is trying to find the under-the-radar prospects in the organization that don’t get enough attention, but have the potential to explode. Last year the series covered: 

1. Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B
2. Drew Parrish – LHP
3. Michael Massey – 2B
4. Tucker Bradley – OF
5. Will Klein – RHP

This year, I expanded the list to six. There has been so much fun talent in the Kansas City Royals minor leagues that it only seemed fitting to add one more. Here is who I’ve covered so:

1. Maikel Garcia – SS
2. Diego Hernandez – OF 

Give me the lefty! Man, was Noah Cameron fun to watch prior to landing on the injured list on July 4th. The left hander who was taken in the 7th Round of the 2021 MLB Draft looked unphased to start his professional career. In his three starts prior to being called up to Quad Cities, Cameron threw 14.2 innings while giving up three earned striking out 22 batters. He was just absolutely dominant. He didn’t stop there. In his first start with the River Bandits, Cameron went four innings striking out 12! If you do a little math, that is recording every single out via strikeout. Absolute insanity. 

Noah Cameron tossed 5 scoreless innings punching out 9 for @QCRiverBandits in their 9-0 Wednesday W pic.twitter.com/ykUyDEImwA

— Kansas City Royals Player Development (@RoyalsPD) June 9, 2022

The Central Arkansas product has a small sample size so he has yet to make it into MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Royals prospects, but there is a very good chance he will be in there come their update. Cameron sits in the low 90s with his fastball that he pairs with an above-average change-up that sits in the low-80s. He has an average curveball that gives him a decent three pitch mix. While none of his pitches are plus, he has good deception between his fastball and change and just has a highly repeatable delivery that allows him to pound the strike zone. His stuff makes him more of a floor than ceiling type prospect, but you have to love what you have seen so far. 

Cameron fits the mold of the pitchers the Royals took in this 2022 draft. Athletic on the mound, with a solid pitch mix, and ability to throw strikes. The Royals took guys like Ryan Ramsey out of Maryland this year that fit the mold of Noah Cameron. Cameron will have success at the lower levels being a guy with a low-90s fastball with solid secondaries. He may face more struggles and see less strikeouts as he moves up in the system, sort of like Drew Parrish has, which will limit his ceiling unless he finds some upticks in velocity. You can almost see Cameron being a Parrish 2.0. Left handed, mid-round draft pick with average to above average stuff that could possibly play at the big league level. 

Noah Cameron was really good last night. Pitched 5.0 scoreless by spreading out 2BB/3H while humbling 9 batters with Ks.

Worked around a 1 out double by punching out 2 guys with a flurry of off speed and breaking pitches. Nothing straight, got out of trouble. Great sequencing. pic.twitter.com/M0PCgbgvPC

— Josh Keiser (@joshkeiser40) June 9, 2022

Cameron had Tommy John in August of 2020, leading him to sit out for Central Arkansas. The Royals still took a shot on him knowing the potential stuff he has. He had a combined 2.19 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 122.2 innings in his two years at Central Arkansas before missing 2021 with TJ. Minor League Baseball didn’t list what his injury, but hopefully it is nothing too serious and we see Cameron back out there on the mound in Quad Cities striking batters out left and right.