Astros Future Player of the Week: Daz Cameron
As I sit week to week compiling stats trying to come up with the Player of the Week, I find myself at times rooting for certain players to maybe just get that one hit or drive in that extra run to make my job easier. On so many occasions they fall short and I blame myself because of my history with rooting for players or teams. This week however the spell may have been broken. Daz Cameron has been that guy for me and he’s come close at times. This week there was really no doubt. With his 12-for-24 performance for the Quad Cities River Bandits, Cameron has been named Astros Future Player of the Week.
The Quad Cities River Bandits are on a nice little winning streak. After the games concluded on Thursday night, the River Bandits have won nine in a row. Cameron, with the help of a few of his teammates, have played a large part in the recent success for Quad Cities. Not only did Cameron go 12-for-24 this past week, he also scored eight runs, with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI. I don’t think it is a coincidence that he has a hitting streak that matches the length of the teams winning streak.
Cameron spent a large chunk of this season hitting just above or a little below .200. He has seen a steady increase in his batting average and has continued to trend in the right direction. Daz is hitting .261 currently and has added power to his game. He has hit 15 home runs in his professional career, with 13 of them coming this season. He can also steal bases which to me nowadays doesn’t happen enough. Cameron has swiped 26 bases so far this season with three coming the last two games.
Cameron was drafted in 2015 and played for both the Gulf Coast Astros and the Greeneville Astros at the Rookie level. 2016 had him playing briefly with Quad Cities before being sent to the Tri-City ValleyCats where he was doing fine until having his season cut short due to injury. This season he has played solely with the River Bandits and will most likely remain there until the season ends. At just 20-years old, Cameron still has plenty of time for growth but is a player that you should keep an eye on as he progresses through the Astros system.
Congratulations to Daz Cameron on being named Astros Future Player of the Week for the week of August 4th to August 10th.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Two other Quad Cities River Bandits turned in impressive weeks. Troy Sieber and Josh Rojas combined to go 22-for-45, with 14 runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and nine runs driven in. The River Bandits are 31-15 in the second half of the season and are first place in the Midwest Leagues Western Division by five games over the Peoria Chiefs.
Jack Mayfield had a good week for the Fresno Grizzlies going 13-for-29, with six runs, two doubles, a homer, and five RBI. Teammate A.J. Reed had a nice week after spending some time in the major leagues with the Astros. Reed hit three home runs bringing his season total to 25.
The Corpus Christi Hooks’ Jamie Ritchie went 7-for-16 with the weekly cycle. He had a double, triple, and home run this week with four RBI. The Buies Creek Astros had a trio of players of note this week. Yordan Alvarez, Randy Cesar, and Jake Rogers we all very impressive combining for six doubles, a triple, a home run, and 15 RBI.
Ben Smith of the Tri-City ValleyCats picked up two wins this week. He made two appearances going three innings without allowing a hit. He did give up three walks, but he countered that with three strikeouts. Hooks’ pitcher Riley Ferrell was impressive as well on the mound. He recorded a save and a win in two and a two thirds innings, striking out five and not allowing a hit.
**Photo Credit: Mathew Carper/Legends on Deck**
