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Tigers Vice President of Player Development, Dave Littlefield, talks with Chris McCosky of The Detroit News about the best prospects for spring training
Robin Buckson, Detroit News

Daz Cameron (Photo: Robin Buckson, Detroit News)

Toledo – Tiger fans who see crazy statistics from minor league players have to remember what they already know about driving on Michigan's roads.

The road to Detroit is usually not smooth.

Take Daz Cameron, for example.

The Toledo center player is still part of the future plans of the Tigers, but Mud Hens director Doug Mientkiewicz calls for caution to consider quick changes for prospects like Cameron, 22, across the levels of the farming system .

When told about Cameron's recent semi-resurgence, which included a six-game stretch and an average of .277 over 17 games until Friday, Mientkiewicz was not impressed with the improvements suggested by the box scores. .

"I would not say it's coming," said Mientkiewicz last weekend to Cameron's question. "He's still hitting a ton. Daz is another guy with a lot of talent, but there are a lot of talented guys who are valet cars. You know, and I do not say that in a negative way. It's not his fault.

"He has a lot to learn from the game."

Speaking more generally about his Triple-A team – coming in on Saturday at 5:27 pm, third worst performance of the 14-team International League – Mientkiewicz pointed out that many players were thrown against him and that many were playing against men for the match. first time.

"Daz is not the only one who thinks that baseball has a lot of complex things, far more important than the number of hits, the number of shots saved and the number of hits you've made," he said. Mientkiewicz. "There are many other things that go into this game out there that you have to learn better or it will humiliate you quickly.

"Sometimes it's a matter of chasing throws, sometimes to know when to fly, when not to fly, when to hit the cutting man … while reading swings on field jumps, keeping your foot on the ball. When to go in third place, how many outs, all that? When this happens and you start to question yourself, you play slowly, you play with hesitation and you make more mistakes. "

Cameron, who is ranked The Detroit News Tigers' # 8 prospect hit below .200 a month into the season but steadily increased his batting average to .227 by entering Saturday.

"At the moment, for me, it's just going out and not worrying about numbers, just going out there and having a good one," Cameron said before Toledo left for his current journey of seven games. "By the end of the year, the numbers will be supported. For me, it's just going out there and making a hard contact, keep putting the ball in the clear and having good things (at bat). This will lead to good things. This is one of my goals. "

Since he's been selected 37th overall as a competitive equilibrium choice by Houston in 2015, the numbers are good for Cameron, who was bought by the Tigers in the 2017 deal with Justin Verlander.

Son of former star player and great 17-year-old activist Mike Cameron, Daz kicked off the season with a batting average of .258 over four seasons in the minor leagues. He then chained with a solid 20-match record in the Arizona Autumn League, hitting .342 with nine stolen goals.

But after Cameron closed down (6-foot-2, 195-pound) last season with a 15-match series in Toledo after a promotion, the strikethroughs helped him derail his start of the year.

Although his five home runs allow him to reach the best pace of his career, Cameron's stopping rate with 28.3% at Saturday's entry is worrisome.

"It's just kind of a refinement of a process of approaching the game, how to approach your opponent, knowing what he's going to try to do to him," said Mike Hessman, Mud Hens coach. "See the big picture, see the runners on the base. Is there an open base? Will they make me sue on this bat? Just things that young batters do, and just try to get them to work on it to slow down the game and see the situation as a whole before his (at-batte) happens. "

Cameron agreed that most of his problems are more related to the approach than to the execution.

"I think that for me, make a good mental approach before the battle, then it will fix," he said. "Over time, I know it's going to click. I am gathering things together and we will be good for the result. "

Although it was difficult for Camreron and Mud Hens occasionally early, Mientkiewicz noted that it was a blessing to tackle difficult terrain rather than north on I-75.

"Often it happens at the next level, and luckily it happens here," he said. "Because we have the opportunity to send him away and let him play a little. But he gets there. He slowly begins to understand that this is not your showcase league on Saturday when your parents bring you.

"And that happens at different times."

Cameron added, "Every day we go out, I feel like a new day to do good things on the ground. I think it will be fine. Baseball is sometimes crazy, but once we reach that goal, everything will be fine. We must continue to work, remain humble, do not try to outdo ourselves, stay average, ride like those. "

Matt Schoch is an independent writer.