Detroit Tigers: Daz Cameron should go north to Comerica Park

The Detroit Tigers are loaded with exciting young players who will make a big difference in a year or two.

One of those young Detroit Tigers players looks ready to join the team now.

Daz Cameron should go north at the end of Spring Training. He shouldn’t go directly to Toledo, but he should join the team at Comerica Park.

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If you haven’t been paying attention to Spring Training, because … it’s just Spring Training, you’ve missed out on this prospect. Cameron, who is just a non-roster invitee, has been handing Ron Gardenhire every reason in the book to become the full-time center fielder. He’s quickly and loudly proving that he is a significantly better choice that the current center field, JaCoby Jones.

Cameron came to Detroit in the Justin Verlander trade with the Houston Astros. While some have complained that the Tigers gave up Verlander too cheaply, Cameron’s performance in Florida is showing that the Tigers did get some value in the transaction.

In 22 at-bats in Spring Training, Cameron has hit .364/.417/.773 with one home run and three RBI. He’s tied with Nick Castellanos who are both leading the team in doubles, with four. And, he has one triple along with Jeimer Candelario.

Cameron is clearly competing for a spot on the 25-man roster. The job he wants has belonged to JaCoby Jones for the past two seasons. While Jones is outstanding in the field, he is less than stellar at the plate.

While defense is clearly important, it’s offense (and good pitching) that wins games. Jones is continuing his mediocrity at the plate with a slash of .208/.345/.375 with one home run and one double. In 2018, Jones hit a pathetic .207/.266/.364.

Of course, center field at Comerica Park is not an easy beast to tame. Jones has done well roaming the spacious grass. But, Cameron has proven that his range is better than Jones’. During Spring Training, Cameron has a fielding percentage of .900, which isn’t as good as Jones’ 1.000. Jones is a good athlete with plenty of speed, but Cameron just seems to have more.

Cameron is 22 years old, which seems young, but looking at the current crop of players like Ronald Acuna, Jr., Ozzie Albies, Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and Gleyber Torres – he’s the perfect age to get started. The odds are good that if Cameron does become a member of the 25-man roster, it won’t be until April so the Tigers can have more control over him.

Cameron is no stranger to life in the Big Leagues. His father is Mike Cameron, who played for 17 years with the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and more. The young Cameron looks to have learned a few things from his father.

Jones has had his chance to show what he can do at the plate and the low 200s seems to be the best he can do. It’s time for the Tigers to start bringing up the faces of the rebuild and Cameron would be the perfect choice to get that party started.