The Tigers have promoted outfielder Daz Cameron to the major leagues, the team announced. Cameron will take the open roster spot left by Christin Stewart, who was optioned to the Tigers’ alternate training site last night.
Chosen by the Astros as the 37th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Cameron was traded to Detroit as part of the Justin Verlander blockbuster in August 2017. Cameron has hit .247/.338/.396 with 37 homers and 109 steals (in 156 chances) over 1971 career minor league plate appearances, with a significant amount of swing-and-miss (509 strikeouts) contributing to this offensive inconsistency. At Triple-A, Cameron has hit only .214/.321/.370 over 590 PA.
These offensive struggles have led to a drop in Cameron’s prospect value, after he gained top-100 notice from pundits prior to the 2016 season. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, however, notes that Cameron’s “speed and line-drive approach make him a strong candidate to take advantage of Comerica Park’s deep outfield gaps.”
Cameron could also be a plus on the defensive side in that big Detroit outfield, as he has mostly played center field in the minors and displayed some quality glovework. If Cameron is able to step into center field on at least a part-time basis, the hot-hitting Victor Reyes could be moved back to corner outfield duty, perhaps sliding into the left field spot mostly filled by Stewart this season. Reyes took over center field after JaCoby Jones was lost for the season due to a fractured hand.
Stewart was drafted just three picks ahead of Cameron in 2015, and though Stewart put up some big numbers in the minors, the 26-year-old has yet to truly display that hitting prowess against MLB pitching. After batting just .233/.305/.388 in 416 PA with the Tigers in 2019, Stewart’s numbers sunk even further this season, with a .171/.233/.317 slash line over 91 PA.
Christian Stewart was sent down last night…this was the corresponding move
Christin Stewart’s bat has been looking more like Kristen Stewart than an MLB hitter. Might want to send Derek Hill out as well. He looks completely lost at the plate.
Good kid, Daz. I’ll root for Mike Cameron’s kid all the way! Maybe he won’t be a star but a nice solid player that can do everything on the field and do it well.
Except not strike out, apparently.
All these young prospects K big time. No need to pick on Daz before he even takes his first swing.
Didn’t mean to single out Daz in particular, I’m personally just not a fan of the “three true outcomes” game. I guess that means they’re all fair game to pick on!
Nephew played HS ball with him. Great kid. But now I have to suffer through tigers games to watch him play lol
Suffer? The Tigers are only 17-19 and the games is actually enjoyable most of the time. It isn’t like the past 2-3 years where Tiger baseball was unwatchable.
Not a Tiger’s fan but they are more fun to watch than many teams.
They are 19-21 and only 1 game back from the wildcard spot.
It’s watchable if Dunning or Mize is pitching. One game back of a playoff spot with all these teams making it doesn’t move the needle for me for some reason.
Some of thought it might be Riley Greene, but while the Tigers are close to the 8th playoff spot, they aren’t going to rush Greene to the bigs for 17 whatever games and lose a year of control.
More the rushing than the control. If they brought him up now it wouldn’t affect his years of team control.
wrong
1000% because of rushing. Greene isn’t 20 years old. He would’ve been in high A this year.
Haven’t watched any tigers games this year. What are they doing well to be in contention right now? Timely hitting? Not like they have “star” power out there anymore.
I watch almost every game, Their defense (at least until Goodrum got hurt) and base running (aside from Cabrera) have been much better this year. They have hit for more power, and they have two hitters among the league leaders in hitting. Until recently, the bullpen was doing quite well, but have been overworked due to poor starting pitching, outside of Spencer Turnbull. They still strike out a ton and don’t walk enough. They seem less prone to stupid mental lapses. And Jonathon Schoop and Austin Romine have been a terrific additions.
Imagine if the Yankees get bumped from the playoffs by the Tigers… wow, that would be a story.
Daz the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it.
This is an underrated comment. Well played.
A teammate of Daz’s father Mike Cameron who also saw Daz play in the minors thinks Daz has more talent than his Dad….We shall see…This is a great “cup of coffee” in the big leagues for Daz.
Daz getting hot with the bat right now is just what the Tigers need. And, he stole a lot of bases in the minors…he could be the spark that helps the Tigers get that last playoff spot…
Hasn’t been very efficient with his base running in the minors. I wouldn’t expect him to get the freedom on the base paths he may have enjoyed in the minors. But I agree he could be a jolt for the tigers with his speed and defense alone. If I were a tigers fan, anything extra would just be a bonus right now.
Well that “teammate” is simply wrong. Mike Cameron is easily one of the most underrated baseball players of his era.
Tigers have been playing great, streaky baseball…Long winning streaks and sometimes long losing streaks. The last 20 games would be a great time to reel off another winning streak for the Tigers. And, the vast majority of games lost by the Tigers have been close and very competitive….1 clutch hit or 1 clutch defensive play, or 1 clutch shutdown from the bullpen and they win another 10-12 games..
This is just the warmup for the Tigers. Tigers young pitching and young position players will just get better and better with more big league experience…’21, ’22, ’23 will see the Tigers rise and contend like the White Sox are rising now…
The AL Central will become one of the best , most competitive Divisions in baseball in the next few years: White Sox, Twins, Indians and Tigers…
Daz better have his running shoes on to patrol Comerica’s centerfield….as the Tigers have just recalled Jordan Zimmerman.