Astros Draft Targets: A Case For OF Daz Cameron

We are now only two days away from the first round of the MLB Draft, which will take place on Monday night. In case you haven’t been following, the Climbing Tal’s Hill staff has been writing a series of scouting reports on the top prospects leading up to the draft and this series is almost over. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow will have a couple of these draft targets to choose from as the Astros hold two top five picks, #2 and #5, in the 2015 draft. Today, my focus will be on Daz Cameron, an OF.

Who is Daz Cameron?

Dazmon Cameron is a 6’0” 186 lb. outfielder from Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia. Daz’s father, Mike Cameron, played in the MLB for 16 years with eight different teams, including the Padres, Mariners, Mets, and Brewers. Mike was a great MLB player, collecting 3 Gold Glove Awards and 1 appearance in the All-Star Game. But, Mike Cameron isn’t the Astros draft target here. Daz is currently committed to play baseball at Florida State, if the draft doesn’t work out the way he has it planned.

Daz Cameron has played in two Under Armour All-American games, which is very rare for all high school baseball prospects. In his junior year of high school, Cameron had a .390 batting average, 11 stolen bases, 6 home runs, and 26 RBIs. His senior year, he improved in all facets of his game. He had a .455 batting average with 8 home runs, 17 stolen bases, 32 RBIs, and 10 doubles.

Cameron’s scouting report has him destined to be a right-handed contact hitter that has the ability to add some power due to his strong bat speed. He isn’t known to be exceptional with one tool. Instead, he’s known for being very solid in all five aspects of the game, something that is always music to scouts’ ears. Cameron is definitely more of a line drive hitter, spraying the ball all over the outfield, but not out of the park. He doesn’t quite have Billy Hamilton speed but he can steal a few bases and can turn it on to run down some baseballs hit into the gaps.

Cameron’s MLB Comparison

After hearing that Daz Cameron is the son of Mike Cameron, it was really difficult for me not to compare this Astros draft target to his father. After thinking about it some more, I didn’t really see a great connection between the two’s games. Mike Cameron hit 278 home runs in his career, and I don’t know if I can see Daz hitting that many by the time he decides to hang it up. When looking for a solid MLB comparison for Cameron, I sought out current center fielders who are on the shorter and skinnier side that have good fielding and base running ability but aren’t great power hitters. The best comparison I could find was the current center fielder for the Kansas City Royals, Lorenzo Cain.

Lorenzo Cain is 6’2” and weighs 205 lbs, compared to Cameron, who is at 6’0” and 186 lbs. There’s definitely room for Daz to put on some weight and maybe grow an inch or two more. On the field, the two are very comparable. Cain has a career .280 batting average and .723 OPS, while only hitting 21 home runs in his entire six-year career. He also has stolen 68 bases in his career and is well-known as a good defensive center fielder. While I do see Daz Cameron hitting a few more home runs in his career, I think these two players are a great match. If Daz Cameron can have as much success as Lorenzo Cain has had recently, especially in the postseason, then he’ll be the face of any franchise that drafts him.

Is Cameron an Option for the Astros?

I think that Daz Cameron is definitely a viable Astros draft target. Looking at the current depth in center field across the Astros organization, it’s not really that special. Obviously, there’s Jake Marisnick playing center at Minute Maid and then Alex Presley, who’s tearing it up in AAA right now but has yet to get into a groove in the MLB. Tony Kemp has been hitting the ball very well and making some amazing catches in center field for the Corpus Christi Hooks after being converted from second base, but Teoscar Hernandez has struggled mightily so far in 2015. Neither of the Astros Single A squads have center fielders that are killing it right now.

If the Astros are going to select Daz Cameron, I think it will be with the 5th overall pick, not the 2nd pick. MLB Pipeline has Daz Cameron rated as the 6th best prospect available in this upcoming draft, right ahead of Kyle Tucker and Andrew Benintendi. The latest mock drafts have Daz Cameron falling somewhere within the top 5, with either the Texas Rangers taking him at #4 or the Astros selecting him with the 5th overall pick.

Personally, I think the Astros will be choosing between Daz Cameron and Kyle Tucker with the 5th pick, as I expect them to take an outfielder there. The Astros have been reportedly in love with Tucker, as his brother, Preston Tucker, is playing really well so far this season in Houston. Either way, Daz Cameron is an elite young talent who will definitely be taken with a top 10 pick in this upcoming MLB Draft.

Keep up with our pre-draft series:

Astros Draft Prospect: Kyle Funkhouser

Astros Draft Prospect: Trenton Clark

Astros Draft Prospect: Walker Buehler

Astros Draft Prospect: Jon Harris

Astros Draft Prospect: Tyler Jay

Astros Draft Prospect: Andrew Benintendi

Astros Draft Prospect: Kyle Tucker

Astros Draft Prospect: Daz Cameron

Astros Draft Prospect: Dillon Tate

Astros Draft Prospect: Alex Bregman

Astros Draft Prospect: Carson Fulmer