Royals’ bold Noah Cameron decision could provide ideal means for him to shake brutal slump

The Kansas City Royals landed back in the losing column on Thursday after suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of their division rivals in Detroit. And as they enter Game 2 of their four game set on Friday in the Motor City, they’ll look to get creative with one their most struggling starter set to hit the mound. Noah Cameron has gone from a Rookie of the Year hopeful in 2025 to a liability in the starting rotation a year later.

He’s gone from a 2.99 ERA arm to a 5.27 ERA arm with a lack of control, lack of strikeout abilities and overall inability to limit hard-contact. And recently, he’s been especially atrocious. In his last seven starts, the 27-year-old southpaw is throwing to a near-8.00 ERA (7.97) with a 6.05 FIP, 1.97 WHIP, .335 BAA and a HR/9 of 2.06. And after a seven earned run outing during the Royals 19-2 beatdown to the Padres last weekend, the Royals have opted to use an opener ahead of Cameron on Friday.

It will be reliever Beck Way getting the start as the opener with Cameron set to come on at some point after the fact.

Some might view this a demotion for Cameron and perhaps it is to a degree. But what it also might be is a smart way for him to shake his slump.

Noah Cameron has looked stronger this season when it comes to facing opposition the first time through the order. This season as whole, he boasts a 1.73 ERA in these scenarios with a 1.06 WHIP and .184 BAA. But after that, the second time through the order has been what’s caused him immense headaches.

Even in his recent struggles that’s been the case, as he’s still sporting a sub-2.00 ERA in his last seven starts through the first time through the order. Along with that he’s limiting opposing hitters to just a .231 BAA.

In this instance, if they use Cameron later on in the game, perhaps they can get to the later and more high-leverage innings more effectively if his first trip through the order is towards the middle innings.

Royals’ future could be dependent on Noah Cameron bouncing back to 2025 form

Not only does the Royals rotation look grim in 2026, highlighted by the likes of Cole Ragans season-ending elbow surgery and Kris Bubic being on the IL since mid-May, but their 2027 rotation looks questionable in a year where they’re reportedly looking to compete again.

On top of the struggling Cameron, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo have their perks, but will both be a year further into their mid-to-late 30s. Then, the likes of Stephen Kolek, Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna have suffered their fair share of serious injuries this season, all being on the 60-day IL at the moment.

This makes Cameron’s bounce back all the more integral for Kansas City. With no telling what J.J. Picollo has up his sleeve to improve this team for the future at the upcoming trade deadline as well as having to navigate the usual struggles of being a small market fish in a big pond in the offseason, there’s no guarantee the Royals can land the impact starters they need to compete externally.

Cameron is a former top five organizational prospect, who’s deep and diverse pitch arsenal carried him to within a striking distance of being a Rookie of the Year finalist a year ago. There’s a capable arm in there, the Royals just need to find a way to extract that once again and sticking to the status quo was getting them nowhere.