Cameron Bishop Stats & Scouting Report

IP	255
ERA	3.212
WHIP	1.176
BB/9	3.071
SO/9	8.506

Full name Cameron James Bishop
Born 02/14/1996 in Brea, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School UC Irvine
Drafted in the 26th round (788th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in 2017.

View Draft Report

The Diamondbacks drafted Bishop in the 32nd out of high school, but the Orange County native stayed home to go to UC Irvine. Bishop's highly-anticipated junior season was thwarted after he strained his oblique during a bullpen session two days prior to Opening Day and missed the entire season. When healthy, Bishop entices as a 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefthander with big stuff, headlined by a 95-mph fastball. He throws both a curveball and changeup that are fringe-average but improving. Bishop's main issue is harnessing his velocity. He had 108 strikeouts in 102 career innings but also allowed 110 hits and walked 4.3 per nine in his career, indicative of both his below-average command and control. Bishop only began pitching his senior year of high school, so there is hope his command and feel to pitch will improve as he gets more experience on the mound.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

After making 14 starts with a 4.61 ERA and a team-high 79 strikeouts as a sophomore at UC Irvine in 2016, Bishop was one of the top prospects in the West Coast League in 2016, and was projected to be the Anteaters' ace and pitch himself into the first day of the draft this spring. However, Bishop strained his oblique the week before the season began, and didn't throw a pitch all year. The Orioles took a flier on him in the 26th round, and moved to sign him after three strong appearances in the Cape Cod League. A clerical error meant his signing for an above-slot $650,000 was announced a week after the July 15 deadline, though both sides showed that the agreement was reached in time. Bishop made one scoreless start in the Gulf Coast League before going to short-season Aberdeen, where he had a 0.78 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 34 innings, with 38 strikeouts and 16 walks. He has a low-90s fastball that reaches 95 mph, with a curveball/changeup/slider combination that is raw across the board. Bishop will continue on a starter's track at low Class A Delmarva in 2018.

Draft Prospects

The Diamondbacks drafted Bishop in the 32nd out of high school, but the Orange County native stayed home to go to UC Irvine. Bishop's highly-anticipated junior season was thwarted after he strained his oblique during a bullpen session two days prior to Opening Day and missed the entire season. When healthy, Bishop entices as a 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefthander with big stuff, headlined by a 95-mph fastball. He throws both a curveball and changeup that are fringe-average but improving. Bishop's main issue is harnessing his velocity. He had 108 strikeouts in 102 career innings but also allowed 110 hits and walked 4.3 per nine in his career, indicative of both his below-average command and control. Bishop only began pitching his senior year of high school, so there is hope his command and feel to pitch will improve as he gets more experience on the mound.
Bishop boosted his prospect stock at the MLB Scouting Bureau's Southern California Invitational in February, when he showed 88-90 mph velocity. He generated buzz later in the spring when he ran his fastball up to 93-94 mph, but he has mostly pitched at 88-90, especially after the first inning of his starts. At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Bishop has a strong frame and plenty of projection. But his rotational delivery needs refinement, and he does not have a clean arm action. His secondary stuff remains raw; his curveball flashes fringe-average, but he does not repeat it, and his changeup is in its nascent stages as well. Most scouts see Bishop as a lefthanded pitcher, but he has also drawn interest as an outfielder with some feel for hitting and a chance to grow into pop down the road. Committed to UC Irvine, Bishop could turn himself into a premium prospect in three years if he winds up at school.

Minor League Top Prospects

Aberdeen had a very talented rotation, and depending on who you talked to, you could get pretty varied rundowns of scouts' preference lists for their pitching prospects. Bishop slipped to the 26th round, but received third-round money and lived up those initial expectations, packaging a 90-94 mph fastball and a slurvy-ish slider that sits on the cusp between curve and slider thanks to its power. It has more of a top-to-bottom break than a true two-plane slider tilt. Bishop is a bigger-bodied pitcher, but he has some athleticism to his delivery which gives some hope that his wildness (4 BB/9 innings) will be tamed as he gets more experience.