By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Royals announced St. Joseph's Noah Cameron has been named the Pitcher of the Month for August, while outfielder Jac Caglianone was chosen as the Player of the Month.
The Royals players of the month are determined by a local media vote. In August, Cameron went a perfect 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA giving up seven runs in 32.2 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .155 batting average in five starts. The .155 batting average against Cameron marked the third lowest opponents’ average allowed by any pitcher in the Majors in August, behind only Dylan Cease and Randy Vásquez, while Cameron's 1.87 ERA ranked fourth in the American League, with a minimum of five starts, trailing Cal Quantrill, Reid Detmers, and Ryan Johnson. He posted a career-high-tying 19.0-inning scoreless streak that spanned parts of four starts from August 10th to the 27th and a career-best 48.2 homerless innings stretch that dated back to July 19th.
Cameron’s four wins in August were tied for the third most in the Majors, behind only Drew Rasmussen and Zebby Matthews, and were the most by a Royal in any month this season. He became the first Kansas City pitcher to record at least four wins and post an ERA below 1.90 in a single month since Seth Lugo in May 2024 and the first Royals left-handed pitcher to achive the feat since Dennis Rasmussen in September 1992. Cameron threw his first career shutout on August 16th at Angel Stadium, where he allowed one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts, marking the first one hit shutout by a Royals pitcher since Zack Greinke on August 30th, 2009 in Seattle and the first such outing by a Kansas City left hander since Rasmussen on September 29th, 1992, also against the Angels on the road.
The unanimous selection marks Cameron's second career monthly honor, last earning Pitcher of the Month last season in July, when he went 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA over five starts.
Caglianone slashed .411/.429/.684 with six home runs, 26 RBIs, and a 1.113 OPS in 24 games last month. He led Major League Baseball in August in batting average and OPS, while ranking among the Major League leaders in hits, slugging percentage, total bases, RBIs, and extra-base hits. Caglianone became the third player in franchise history to post a batting average of at least .410 with 25 RBI in a single month, joining Hall of Famer George Brett in August 1980 and Amos Otis in September 1978. His 39 hits and 26 RBIs in August were the most by a Royal in any month this season. He also reached safely in 22 of his 24 games last month, which included a career-best 17-game on-base streak from August 1st to the 19th, hitting safely in 21 of his 24 games in August, registering a career-high 13-game hit streak from August 1st to the 15th, which was the third longest run by an American League player last month.
Caglianone recorded two doubles and two home runs on August 8th against the Cubs, becoming the first player in Royals history to reach those marks in a single game, while matching the club record for extra-base hits in a game. At 23 years old and 180 days, he became the youngest left-handed hitter to record a two home run and two double effort since Hall of Famer Mel Ott, 20 years old and 109 days) on June 19th, 1929 at Philadelphia. He tallied a career-high five hits and six RBIs on August 27th at Toronto, becoming the third Royal in team history to have at least five hits and six RBIs in a single contest, joining Eric Hosmer and Kevin Seitzer.
Caglianone was also a unanimous selection, marking his second career monthly honor, following June, when he slashed .309/.387/.649 with three doubles, one triple, nine home runs, and 19 RBIs in 25 games.
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