By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Kansas City Royals prospect Noah Cameron, a Central alum, posted a breakout season in 2024, earning him an invite to major league spring training.
Pitchers and catchers reported to Surprise, Arizona and had their first workout this week.
Cameron says it's been really cool being in the same clubhouse and working alongside veterans like Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr.
"Just to kind of watch them work, you know obviously they're the best players in baseball for a reason and just watching them kind of do their thing and their everyday work that they put in and preparation they put in is really cool," Cameron tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And it teaches us younger guys what to do, what not to do."
Last year, Cameron posted a 3-2 record with a 2.32 ERA and 67 strikeouts across nine starts at Triple A Omaha. Overall, between Triple A and Double A, he was 7-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 149 strikeouts. In November, the Royals added Cameron to the 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft.
Cameron will have the opportunity to learn alongside two Cy Young finalists from last year, in Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, as well as experienced veterans in Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen.
Cameron says even through the first days of spring training this week, he has seen the work ethic of his teammates, and is ready to learn alongside them
"It's been really cool to get to know them a little bit, obviously I'm excited to continue growing those relationships with those guys and just being able to kind of slide right in and let them lead the way and for me to just hopefully help out and earn that spot and earn their respect," Cameron says."
Cameron knows that he's in competition with teammates for the fifth starter spot
"We obviously are aware of it, and we know that we want to be better than each other, but at the same time encourage each other and push each other every day, which is just really awesome," Cameron explains. "And you don't see that a whole lot, obviously if we had five starters that were all making $20 million and there's no spots open it would be a little less competitive."
A spot in the Royals rotation opened after a trade sent Brady Singer to the Cincinatti Reds. Cameron is in competition with teammates with major league experience, such as Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, and a returning from injury Kyle Wright.
While many players are already in Surprise, Arizona for Spring Training, the first full team workout is on Monday.
FULL INTERVIEW
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