Cameron goes deep twice for River Bandits

After hitting two homers in his first two seasons of professional baseball, over-the-fence power did not seem to be something that Daz Cameron brought to the lineup.
On Sunday, the Astros' ninth-ranked prospect matched that career total with a pair of roundtrippers as Class A Quad Cities topped Wisconsin, 18-11, in a Midwest League slugfest at Fox Cities Stadium.

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"I know it's always been there, this is just me being myself," Cameron said.
The sudden burst of power did not come as a surprise to River Bandits manager Russ Steinhorn.
"You could see him showing some signs and flashes here and there," the first-year skipper said. "He's obviously a very talented runner and defender, and he's a top-of-the-lineup guy. But he's strong.
"He'll just keep getting stronger and his swing will continue to improve, and I think his power numbers will go along with it. He's a very talented player and I'm not surprised at all that he's had early-season success and that he had a great day today."
Cameron's first homer Sunday came against reliever Dalton Brown with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. He tacked on an insurance run with a solo shot in the ninth against Luke Barker. The breakout performance brought a welcome feeling of relief.

"It feels good knowing that I could drive the ball and I've … known I could do it," Cameron said. "It's just me figuring out my swing and what I could do, and I know it's always been there and I'm just trying to hit line drives and gaps -- get on base for my team."
Cameron split time last season between Quad Cities and Class A Short Season Tri-City of the New York-Penn League, hitting .212 in 40 games of what was supposed to be his first full Minor League season. He suffered a broken finger after being hit by a pitch in a July 6 game while playing for Tri-City and missed the rest of the summer. 
"I feel like that time off helped me really gather my thoughts," he said. "It helped me become a better player mentally and a better person and a better man. I feel like I'm blessed to come back out here and do what I love to do."
The River Bandits totaled five runs through the first three games of the season, but Steinhorn credited Sunday's surge to a more relaxed mental approach.
"We just talked about looking into today and not looking back at the past. Keep working on getting better every day," he said. "We're a very talented group and we're very lucky to be able to coach these guys, and we know that as long we continue to make good decisions in the strike zone and swing at good pitches then good things are going to happen."

Spencer Johnson opened the scoring for Quad Cities with a grand slam in the first. Wisconsin's Tucker Neuhausanswered with the first of his two homers in the bottom of the frame, but the River Bandits built a seven-run lead in the fourth on Cameron's slam and an RBI groundout off the bat of Chuckie Robinson.
Trailing, 10-4, the Timber Rattlers scored twice in the sixth, then tied it in the seventh on a two-run double by Nathan Rodriguez. 
The River Bandits batted around in a decisive seven-run eighth that was aided by three errors and capped by a two-run homer by Astros' No. 28 prospect Stephen Wrenn.