Noah Cameron's shocking surge could put him in driver's seat for Royals' 2027 Opening Day nod

The Kansas City Royals faithful has been marveling at the standout second-half that sophomore Noah Cameron has been putting together. On Sunday, he had the Royals faithful buzzing after throwing a complete game one-hitter with eight strikeouts and just one walk. This start only added to incredible stretch he's had since July 24.

Since he came in as an unorthodox bullpen arm following an opener that night in Detroit, Cameron has thrown to a 1.19 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and .107 BAA in his last five outings (four of which were starts). To put his dominance further into context, Cameron's gone seven or more innings with one or less earned runs on three or less hits in four of his last five outings.

And he hasn't just been the best pitcher in the Royals rotation during this stretch, he's been arguably the best starting pitcher in all of baseball. His 1.4 fWAR is the best of any qualified starter along with his 0.58 WHIP and .107 BAA. And his 1.19 ERA sits comfortably within the Top 10.

The Royals have their issues with starting staff this season and next season thanks to some major injury woes. With a majority of the starting arms alongside Cameron being again veterans or largely unproven entities, someone with Cameron's prior pedigree as a former top five organizational prospect has every chance to lead this rotation under these circumstances to start 2027.

Cole Ragans has been this team's Opening Day starter for the past three years now, but UCL surgery will put him on the shelf until at least mid-way through 2027. This means the Opening Day nod for 2027 is as open a competition as ever. If the recent changes to Cameron's approach continue to bear results, then why not him?

How might the Kansas City Royals' starting rotation look in 2027?

Now whether or not Cameron is the Opening Day starter remains to be seen. There's still an offseason to be had and spring training to be played before that will even enter the minds of the Royals' brain trust.

They'll obviously need to invest in other beyond the ones on their current roster and owner John Sherman has stated this will be a priority for them in their spending this winter. They only have four undisputed starters on the active roster right now and alongside Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila, Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna will all but likely start the 2027 season on the shelf.

However, they have the makings of a solid foundation to enter the winter roster building months. Alongside Cameron, their steady veteran duo of Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo are likely to return after J.J. Picollo was so reluctant to trade them at the deadline.

Wacha has turned in an All-Star season for the first time in 11 years, throwing to a 3.46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 16 quality starts in 24 starts this season. Lugo hasn't been as effective, but he's only two seasons removed from a Cy Young runner up performance and his mid-4.00s ERA and 14 quality starts are certainly respectable enough to occupy one of the middle spots in the staff.

Then there's Randy Dobnak, who came into this organization with little fanfare in a minor trade with the Mariners, but has since become integral to their starting staff. He may not make it look the prettiest with a 1.30 WHIP and just 5.40 K/9, however he's made it work, throwing to the tune of a 1.73 ERA. He shouldn't be considered a surefire option to crack nest year's staff by any means, but so long as he keeps this up this pace, he's at least earned to right to compete for a spot in Surprise this spring.

That's four names already. There's work to be done and they have to be diligent, but the cards could be falling into play despite all their struggles this season.

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