Daz Cameron

Summary

Dazmon Jaroid Cameron (born January 15, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Oakland Athletics organization. He attended Eagle's Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia, and was selected by the Houston Astros in the 2015 MLB draft. The Astros traded Cameron to the Detroit Tigers in 2017 and he made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2020. His father is former All-Star outfielder Mike Cameron.

Daz Cameron
Cameron with the Erie SeaWolves in 2018
Oakland Athletics – No. 36
Outfielder
Born: (1997-01-15) January 15, 1997 (age 27)
LaGrange, Georgia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 2020, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.201
Home runs5
Runs batted in24
Teams

Early life and amateur career edit

Cameron is the oldest of four children born to JaBreka and Mike Cameron.[1] Mike played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams over seventeen seasons.[2] His father began to instruct him on how to play baseball when he was 13 years old.[3]

Cameron attended Eagle's Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia, where he played for the school's baseball team. As a freshman, he had a .392 batting average.[4] He improved his power in his sophomore year,[5] finishing the season with a .434 batting average, a .764 slugging percentage, seven home runs, and 28 runs batted in (RBIs) in 106 at bats.[6] He committed to enrolling at Florida State University on a college baseball scholarship, to play for the Florida State Seminoles.[7]

In the summer of 2014, Cameron was a member of the USA Baseball's 18-and-under national team,[8] competing against other nations from the Pan American Baseball Confederation.[3] He also appeared in the 2013 and 2014 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.[9] As a senior in 2015, Cameron had a .455 average with eight home runs and 32 RBIs, and was chosen as Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year.[10][11]

Professional career edit

Cameron was considered a potential first overall draft pick in the 2015 MLB draft;[5][6][12] however, he fell into the competitive lottery pick round because of rumored high contract demands.

Houston Astros edit

The Houston Astros took him 37th overall; as the team with the largest draft spending pool, they were thought to have the best chance to sign Cameron.[13] Cameron signed with the Astros for a reported $4 million signing bonus.[14] After signing, Cameron reported to the Rookie League GCL Astros. After batting only .222 with six RBIs in 21 games, he was reassigned to the Greeneville Astros of the Appalachian League where he improved, batting .272 with 11 RBIs and a .721 OPS in 30 games.

Cameron began the 2016 season with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League.[15] He struggled with Quad Cities, batting .143 in 21 games, and was reassigned to the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.[16] After playing in 19 games, in which he batted .278, Cameron broke his finger when he was hit by a pitch in July, ending his season.[17] Cameron returned to Quad Cities for the start of the 2017 season.[18]

Detroit Tigers edit

On August 31, 2017, the Astros traded Cameron, Franklin Pérez, and Jake Rogers to the Detroit Tigers for Justin Verlander.[19] Detroit assigned him to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League. In 123 total games between Quad Cities and West Michigan, Cameron batted .271 with 14 home runs and 74 RBIs along with 32 stolen bases.[20] Cameron began the 2018 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the High–A Florida State League, and he batted .259 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in 58 games played. On June 18, the Tigers promoted Cameron to the Erie SeaWolves of the Double–A Eastern League.[21] After he batted .285 with five home runs and 35 RBIs in 53 games, the Tigers promoted him to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Triple–A International League on August 17.[22] In 15 games for Toledo, he hit .211 with six RBIs.[23] After the regular season, Cameron played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League.[24] Cameron returned to Toledo for the 2019 season, hitting .214/.330/.377/.707 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI.[25][26]

Cameron was added to the Tigers' 40-man roster following the 2019 season.[27] On September 9, 2020, the Tigers promoted him to the major leagues and he made his major league debut that day.[28] On September 11, Cameron recorded his first major league hit, an RBI single, off of Chicago White Sox starter Lucas Giolito.[29] Overall with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, Cameron batted .193 with no home runs and 3 RBIs in 17 games.[30]

Cameron made his debut with the 2021 Detroit Tigers on June 10, and the following night recorded his first major league home run, a two-run hit off Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks in the bottom of the 9th inning, tying the game and extending it to extra innings.[31][32] On June 23, in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Cameron stole a base against Yadier Molina, making him and his father Mike the first father-son duo to steal bases against Molina.[33]

On June 10, 2022 Cameron was placed on the injured list by the Tigers. He had only 64 at-bats with the major league club in 2022, hitting .219 with one home run.

Baltimore Orioles edit

Cameron was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on November 9, 2022.[34] On December 2, 2022, he was sent outright off the 40-man roster.[35] In 110 games for the Triple–A Norfolk Tides he batted .268/.346/.452 with 16 home runs, 67 RBI, and 23 stolen bases.[36] Cameron elected free agency following the season on November 6.[37]

Oakland Athletics edit

On November 17, 2023, Cameron signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics.[38]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Mike & Daz Cameron".
  2. ^ "ELCA's Cameron has pedigree, tools and poise to be a star". Henry Daily Herald. May 16, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Cameron ready to Daz-zle this summer". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "2012 All-Southern Crescent Baseball Team". Clayton News Daily. May 30, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "ELCA's Cameron has pedigree, tools and poise to be a star | Clayton News Daily". News-daily.com. May 16, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Player of the Year: Dazmon Cameron". Henry Daily Herald. May 30, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Aiken controversy doesn't worry potential top 2015 draft pick". Houston Chronicle. September 5, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  8. ^ "Potential Astros draft pick Cameron loves Minute Maid Park". Houston Chronicle. September 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "ELCA's Dazmon Cameron is an Under Armour selection for the second straight year - Henry Daily Herald". Henry Daily Herald. February 17, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  10. ^ Strickland, Luke (May 28, 2015). "ELCA's Cameron selected as Gatorade Georgia Baseball Player of the Year". Henry Daily Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  11. ^ Torres, Maria (May 29, 2015). "MLB prospect Daz Cameron is first male athlete from Henry to win Gatorade Player of the Year honors". Henry Daily Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  12. ^ "Never too early to look ahead to '15 Draft". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  13. ^ Daz Cameron: Prospect Profile for Astros' No. 37 Overall Pick, Bleacher Report. Published June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  14. ^ "37th overall pick Daz Cameron signs with Astros". Houston Chronicle. June 30, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  15. ^ "'Genetics' helps make Bandits outfielder Cameron a strong prospect". Quad-Cities Online. April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. ^ Emrich, Robert (June 28, 2016). "Cameron bounces back for ValleyCats: Astros' No. 5 prospect delivers four hits, falls double short of cycle". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  17. ^ Verdejo Jr., Angel (July 7, 2016). "Astros prospect Daz Cameron to miss rest of season". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Cameron, River Bandits ready for new beginning | Midwest League Baseball". qctimes.com. April 5, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  19. ^ "Astros trade for pitcher Justin Verlander". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "Daz Cameron Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". milb.com. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  21. ^ Sipple, George (June 18, 2018). "Detroit Tigers promote RHP Alex Faedo, OF Daz Cameron to Double-A Erie". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  22. ^ "Detroit Tigers promote prospects for final leg of season". Freep.com. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  23. ^ "Daz Cameron Stats, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  24. ^ Tripodi, Chris (October 29, 2018). "Detroit Tigers' Daz Cameron building on ascension in Arizona Fall League". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  25. ^ Jason Beck (November 19, 2019). "Tigers facing 40-man roster decisions". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  26. ^ "Detroit Tigers prospects Parker Meadows, Daz Cameron getting hot". Freep.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  27. ^ Anthony Fenech (November 20, 2019). "Detroit Tigers protect six players from Rule 5 draft. Here are their selections". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  28. ^ Beck, Jason. "Tigers call up Daz Cameron, son of Mike". MLB.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  29. ^ "Daz Cameron's first MLB hit for Detroit Tigers parallels his father". Freep.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  30. ^ "Daz Cameron Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  31. ^ "Daz Cameron's game-tying HR | 06/11/2021". MLB.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  32. ^ "Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Box Score, June 11, 2021". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  33. ^ @MLB (June 23, 2021). "Earlier today, Daz Cameron stole a base off Yadier Molina, making him and his father, Mike Cameron, the first fathe…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Petzold, Evan. "Detroit Tigers' Daz Cameron, from 2017 Justin Verlander trade, claimed off waivers by Orioles," Detroit Free Press, Wednesday, November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  35. ^ "Orioles Outright Daz Cameron". December 2, 2022.
  36. ^ "Tides' Cameron looks to carry family legacy of successful Major League careers". May 19, 2023.
  37. ^ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  38. ^ "A's Claim Michael Kelly, Sign Daz Cameron to Minors Deal". November 17, 2023.

External links edit

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
  • Baseball Instinct