Cole Ragans scratched from Wednesday’s start, Noah Cameron to be called up to make MLB debut

The St. Joe’s native will make his MLB debut

The Royals announced Cole Ragans will not make his regularly scheduled start on Wednesday due to a mild groin injury he suffered on Saturday. Instead the team will call up left-hander Noah Cameron to make his MLB debut.

Cameron hails from St. Joseph, Missouri and attended St. Joseph Central High School before pitching at the University of Central Arkansas. He missed the entire 2021 season following Tommy John surgery, but the Royals gambled and selected him in the seventh round of the draft. He had a terrific debut season in 2022, but his ERA ballooned the next year despite some impressive strikeout-to-walk numbers. He rebounded last year to post a 3.08 ERA in 25 starts between Double-A and Triple-A. In five starts for Omaha this year, he had a 3.22 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 22 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Cameron is ranked as the #5 prospect in the Royals’ farm system by MLB Pipeline, who writes the left-hander throws around 92 mph with this fastball, although he can amp it up at times.

Cameron’s bread and butter pitch is his plus changeup, a low-80s offering that tumbles and misses a ton of bats. He mixes in a plus upper-70s curveball that has a tight break and tunnels well with his fastball. He also brought back an upper-80s cutter, an effective pitch that helps his fastball play better by adding another dimension for the hitter to think about.

Baseball America ranks him #8, writing he is a “finesse lefthander with a sneaky four-seam fastball” and a “savvy hurler who mixes his pitches well.”

Ragans suffered a mild groin strain on Thursday against the Rockies, exiting after three innings. The Royals have not indicated he will need a stint on the Injured List, so another roster move will be necessary to get Cameron on the roster. According to Anne Rogers, Ragans could start this weekend against the Orioles.