Bio
INF Cameron Cannon was traded to the Sioux City Explorers to continue his fifth season of professional baseball after spending parts of 2024 with the Cleburne Railroaders and Kansas City Monarchs. He played 2023 with the Monarchs after spending part of the year in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, which followed his time in the Boston Red Sox system. He previously reached AAA with Boston’s Worcester after being drafted in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft out of the University of Arizona.
Earlier in 2024 with the Railroaders, Cannon batted.304 with an .868 OPS. With the Railroaders, he recorded three multi-hit games, each with an extra-base hit. The righty bat was acquired by Cleburne earlier in the year from Kansas City where he played 22 games for the Monarchs. With KC, he posted a .283 on-base percentage to pair with a .628 OPS.
Cannon played in just eight games for the Monarchs in 2023 after being released from the Phillies organization, starting off with a 2-3 game against the RedHawks that included a triple. In the Phillies system, Cannon mostly played at AA Reading where he posted a .655 OPS across 46 games, hitting six home runs and 11 doubles for a .394 slugging percentage. His season included a stretch where he went 11-20 with five extra-base hits across five games.
In 2022, Cannon made his way up to AAA in the Red Sox organization, making his first start July 24 and batting .257 across his 12 games. In his time in Worcester, he had two multi-hit games, recording a double in each one. He played most of his 2022 season at AA Portland, however, making 35 appearances with a .318 OBP. Like 2023, he had a streak where he batted .346 over seven games between April 16 and April 24, collecting two extra-base hits while reaching base at a .370 clip.
2021 was Cannon’s first season at the AA level, graduating from High-A in early August and finishing the season with Portland. With AA Portland, Cannon had a .383 slugging percentage while picking up nine extra-base hits, three of which were homers, across 24 games. His promotion came after playing 74 games with High-A Greenville, batting .302 with an .808 OPS during his time there. He ended his time in High-A batting .370 with a .937 OPS between July 6 and his promotion Aug. 8. Over those 25 games, he had 11 RBI with 10 extra-base hits, scoring 15 times and swiping three bases.
Prior to the COVID year, Cannon played part of his first professional season in the Red Sox organization in Low-A after just three games at rookie ball. With Low-A Lowell, Cannon slashed had a .289 OBP with a .624 OPS over 42 games, hitting three homers and 12 doubles while driving in 21.
The Red Sox drafted Cannon in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft after his junior season with the Arizona Wildcats. In his final season, he played in 56 games, batting .397 with a 1.129 OPS, earning himself Baseball America All-America First-Team honors. Through the season, he led the team and ranked second in the PAC-12 in batting average while leading the nation with 29 doubles.
During his sophomore season with the Wildcats in 2018, Cannon earned honorable mention All-PAC-12 honors, batting .321 while posting a .976 OPS across 56 games. During the season, he had a stretch where he hit four homers in five games between March 30 and April 7. This season followed a freshman year where he started 27 of his 35 games, batting .274 with five extra-base hits.
Cannon decided to go to the Wildcats after being drafted in the 21st round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of Mountain Ridge High School. His parents are Chris Cannon and Kim Belanger, and he has three siblings, including Tanner Murphy who was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2010 MLB Draft and played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in 2016.