Royals 25-Year-Old Lefty Dominating Triple-A Called 'Next Starter Up'

Pitching isn’t a main concern for the Kansas City Royals right now, but if and when the Royals need rotation help, one man is waiting in the wings.

Kansas City fell to 8-11 on the season Wednesday night after getting swept by the New York Yankees in the Bronx. The Royals received quality outings from their starting pitchers in the series but were ultimately outscored 12-6 over the three-game stretch.

Kansas City’s lineup as a whole has underperformed in 2025. Meanwhile, the Royals have the fourth-best team ERA in baseball at 3.33 (entering Thursday), and Cole Ragans leads Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 34.

What Kansas City needs right now is more plate production, particularly from its outfield, but that doesn’t mean that the Royals don’t have a contingency plan if one or more of their starting pitchers misses time due to injury.

According to a new report from MLB.com compiled by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, Kansas City’s No. 5 prospect, left-hander Noah Cameron, is ready to join the big league rotation whenever needed. 

“Hold onto those Jac Caglianone callup hopes for just a little bit longer,” the report said. “Cameron has dominated Triple-A batters since his arrival at Omaha last July, and he’s continued that success with a 1.65 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 18 strikeouts through his first three starts (16 1/3 innings). He’s yet to give up a hit on his plus low-80s changeup and has generated a 45 percent whiff rate on the cambio. Now on the 40-man roster, he’s performing like the next starter up when Kansas City needs rotation help.”

Cameron, 25, was selected by the Royals with the No. 199 overall pick out of Central Arkansas in the 2021 MLB draft.

Kansas City begins a new series versus the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Thursday night. Michael Lorenzen will be on the mound for the Royals as they try to snap a three-game losing streak.

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