A great outing
The trick about a Player of the Week post is that pitchers often get the short end of the stick. Most starting pitchers only get one game, and sometimes the team’s best relievers don’t necessarily pitch more than a couple times. So today, I am giving the Royals Review Player of the Week award to one pitcher, even though he only had one start.
Sue me.
From a pure numbers standpoint, Cameron’s start this week was solid. The bespectacled St. Josephian tossed five innings, allowing no runs earned or otherwise. Along the way, he struck out seven A’s and walked only one.
The Royals did lose Cameron’s start. But this is an award that I am giving, and I can make the rules, and I think Cameron has simply done such an extraordinary job this year that he deserves some kudos.
Cameron, more than perhaps any other player, was sorely needed to be productive. The Royals’ strength is starting pitching, but this year they’ve seen their two aces from last season—Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo—go down with injuries. And with the bats in and out of deep hibernation this year, that puts so much pressure on the remaining starters.
In some ways, Cameron has resembled a left-handed version of Brady Singer with a low-90s fastball, good control, and a pronounced platoon split. For the Royals to conjure a Singer-like pitcher sort of out nowhere to fill in and excel? That’s been huge.
So no, Cameron didn’t win the game he pitched this week. But he has given the Royals more than a chance to do so, and he is a shining example of the type of pitching depth the Royals wished they had for many years in recent memory.