Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

The Kansas City Royals have officially promoted left-handed pitching prospect Noah Cameron from Triple-A Omaha ahead of his MLB debut on Wednesday. Cameron is slated to fill in for the injured Cole Ragans (groin) during Wednesday's contest against the Tampa Bay Rays. Cameron has enjoyed a solid start to the Triple-A regular season. Through his first 22 1/3 innings of work, the Central Arkansas product has held a 3.22 ERA with a strong 1.03 WHIP. He has struck out 27 batters and shown strong command as he has served up eight free passes. Last season at Triple-A, the southpaw posted an impressive 2.32 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP across 54 1/3 innings of work. Given his steady production at Triple-A, fantasy managers should consider adding Cameron as a streaming option on Wednesday ahead of his outing against the Rays.

Kansas City Royals pitching prospect Noah Cameron will be called up from Triple-A Omaha to make a spot start for the Royals on Wednesday against the Rays, which will be his major league debut. He'll take the place of Cole Ragans, who was originally scheduled to start but is dealing with a mild groin strain. It sounds like Ragans will avoid the IL for now, which means Cameron isn't expectedto stick with the big league club beyond this start. Cameron just missed making the Opening Day rosterand has been pitching well at Triple-A to start the year, posting a 3.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a 21.3 percentK-BB% across five starts (22 1/3 IP). The southpaw showed well at Triple-A last season as well, registering a 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 23.8 percent K-BB% across nine starts (54 1/3 IP), so regardless of what happens Wednesday, we'll likelysee him in the majors again later this season. The Rays have one of the lowest team batting averages against lefties, so Cameron could be a sneaky low-end DFS play for this contest.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (groin) will not make his regularly scheduled start in Tampa against the Rays on Wednesday, according to manager Matt Quatraro. Instead, the Royals will call up pitching prospect Noah Cameron to make the start in Ragans' place on Wednesday. Ragans was pulled from his last start last Thursday against the Colorado Rockies due to a mild strain of his left groin. The 27-year-old southpaw said he had been feeling better since the injury, though, so there's a good chance he'll only have to miss one turn through KC's rotation. Fantasy managers will be hoping he'll avoid a stint on the injured list and will be able to make his next scheduled start in a great matchup on May 5 against the division-rival Chicago White Sox. If Ragans is cleared for that outing, he'll be a must-start in all fantasy formats.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco (Achilles) received a platelet-rich plasma injection on April 4 after his Achilles flared up on March 30. Blanco then ran the bases for the first time last Friday, and he could start a minor-league rehab assignment this week. The 32-year-old veteran is attempting to return from right-Achilles tendinopathy, which landed him on the 10-day injured list back on March 31. If he is able to start a rehab assignment this week and avoid setbacks, he could return to the Royals next week. Blanco was able to take part in the team's pre-game activities on Wednesday and is getting close to his return to the big leagues. When he's ready, the Cuban outfielder will be a bench option for the Royals most nights and will mainly be useful in deeper fantasy leagues for his speed -- he stole a combined 55 bases in 2023 and 2024.

Further imaging on Kansas City Royals left-hander Sam Long (elbow) on April 14 showed inflammation but no structural damage, and he was able to begin a throwing progression last Thursday. Long was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 13 with left-elbow inflammation and is expected to return in May. Whenever the 29-year-old southpaw begins throwing off a mound, he probably won't be far off from a minor-league rehab assignment. In his first seven outings of the 2025 season, Long struggled to the tune of a 12.86 ERA and 2.43 WHIP, with his elbow issues likely playing a big role. He was much better last year in his first season with KC, posting a 3.16 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, a save, a career-high 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 42 2/3 relief innings. Long isn't on the fantasy radar, even when he's fully healthy.