Noah Cameron is proving new Royals tactics could help fuel better results

While the Kansas City Royals have regressed in many areas this season, the performance from pitcher Noah Cameron has been one of the largest steps back. The southpaw went from the top pitcher in the AL Rookie of the Year voting to carrying a 5.27 ERA into his latest outing against the Detroit Tigers on July 24. But if you want different results, sometimes you need a different process, and Cameron changed up his process on multiple levels. The results changed accordingly.

Cameron worked behind reliever Beck Way, who served as an opener to face the top of the Tigers lineup. Way surrendered two runs on three hits, putting Cameron and the Royals lineup in a hole once the second inning came around at Comerica Park. But Cameron did his part in holding the Tigers scoreless across seven innings, even if Kansas City only mustered one run in the 2-1 loss. The moral victory is just how much better Cameron looked in what is likely his best outing of the season.

So what changed? What could help explain Cameron's performance, or at least offer explanations that are replicable? As Cameron is set to take the mound again on Thursday afternoon for their series finale in Minnesota, let's examine further.

2 reasons why Royals' recent handling of Noah Cameron worked so well

First, piggybacking off an opener is impossible to ignore. While this is a big change in routine for Cameron and whoever is opening for him, it could protect Cameron from batters who have a very advantageous matchup against him. Manager Matt Quatraro pointed out that the Royals liked "that matchup with the righties [Way] was going to face," even if that did not go the way they planned. MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported that the Royals brought the opener idea to Cameron following his last start, and the lefty knew the answer.

"I haven't been pitching very well this year, so I was in no spot to argue," Cameron said. "Whatever the team needs. Obviously, I want to start. We all, as starters, have routines, and it definitely throws that off a little bit. Kind of makes it a little uncomfortable. I'll never say I don't want to start."

Theoretically, using an opener reduces the number of times a traditional starter sees the opposition's top of the order while still getting multiple innings of work. Cameron has not been considerably worse seeing batters the third time through the order this season. It is actually his second time through the order where he carries a 10.06 ERA. But Cameron was able to settle into his rhythm and stay in control against the Tigers, seeing the top of the order three times in his outing.

The other change was one Cameron instigated and controlled in Detroit: calling his own pitches. Veterans Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo call their own pitches, and that should not surprise many fans. They have been doing this for more than a decade, have a feel for what will and will not work, and better knowledge of where their body is at during an outing. But Cameron got the green light to call his own game from the pitching coaches and also needed to get that green light from Salvador Perez, who was catching his first game in nearly a month.

"I'm a younger guy, and I've looked up to him my whole life," Cameron said. "Definitely, going into that conversation, it was like, 'Hey, you're doing nothing wrong. You are amazing. This is just something that I kind of want to try and just see how I feel with it.'"

Lo and behold, Perez was with the program too, and that put even more of the onus on Cameron. He could blame the opener tactic for a disruption in routine, but getting ready for the start, the game plan, the sequencing, that was all on him. And with some big arsenal changes, the lefty delivered.

Cameron swapped out his four-seam fastball as his primary fastball in favor of a cutter, which he threw the most while recording a 33% CSW%. It really set up his secondaries even more effectively, an aspect that has always been true when Cameron is pitching his best. Cameron's changeup is historically his best pitch, and Tigers batters swung and missed at it eight times, good for a 67% whiff rate. Cameron's overall 40% whiff rate was the highest from a single game in his MLB career. That and some soft contact from Tigers batters helped Cameron get through seven innings on 97 pitches.

And that does not even take his velocity increase into consideration. Cameron's pure velocity has not been up to MLB snuff for his career, and his 92.4 mph fastball velocity is below league average. But his entire arsenal was up at least 1 mph on average against Detroit, including getting that four-seamer up to 94.0 mph. That is marginally above the league average for left-handed pitchers, and if Cameron can keep that up while generating the swing and miss he showcased, he really raises the expectations as the season goes on.

I wonder if the opener tactic will be used as often going forward, but I could see Cameron continuing to call his own pitches as the season winds down. Kansas City is absolutely in evaluation mode for the players they will likely look to have back in 2027, and Cameron is one such player. He will have more pressure on him especially if Kansas City moves on from both Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo at the deadline, and there is a real chance that Cameron is the only returning member from this past Opening Day rotation to the next, as Cole Ragans will be on the shelf and Kris Bubic is a pending free agent.

One outing is a fluke. Two outings could be lucky. Three in a row? There might be something to this for Cameron.

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