Arizona baseball: Cameron Ming announces he will sign contract with Baltimore Orioles

The junior will move on to pro ball

A day after being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 14th round, Arizona Wildcats LHP Cameron Ming announced that he will be leaving college and starting his professional career.

“After much time and consideration, I decided to take the opportunity for professional baseball given to me by the Baltimore Orioles,” he wrote. “I am forever grateful for Tucson giving me the best 3 years of my life. Thank you to the coaches, teammates, fans, and all other support staff that I truly believe are the best in the country. Something very remarkable happened a couple years ago getting this program in the right direction again and for that, I especially thank the dedicated coaching staff at Arizona. I gained several brothers throughout the years and I leave with many great memories of our times together. The University of Arizona will always be a place I call home. I’m extremely excited to now beardown with the Baltimore Orioles.

Ming, who spent much of his sophomore season as a starter, moved into the bullpen for postseason play, essentially switching roles with Bobby Dalbec in the most crucial part of the season.

The move paid off, as Ming recorded four saves in the postseason, and made six appearances in the College World Series alone. His 80 ¹⁄₃ innings were fourth most on the team, and he ended up with an ERA of 3.59.

As 2017 started, Ming found himself still in the bullpen and didn’t allow an earned run over his first eight appearances, which spanned 16 ¹⁄₃ innings.

When the starting rotation behind JC Cloney started to flounder, Ming switched back to a starting role halfway through conference play. He ended up posting two complete games, and threw 94+ pitches in each of his final six appearances of his career.

His season ERA of 2.78 wound up being the best on the team, and Jay Johnson has credited Ming as being the reason this team was able to do what it did over the last two years. No argument here considering all the different things Ming did, and how well he performed in those various roles.

The Orioles’ short-season affiliate is the Aberdeen Ironbirds. They also field a team in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in Sarasota, Florida. It’s likely Ming will wind up with one of those two teams to start his pro career.

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