LAKELAND, Fla. -- The line drive to straightaway center field froze Yankees top prospect Estevan Florial, who needed a split second to judge whether it was sinking or carrying. It had the opposite effect on the guy who hit it.

Daz Cameron saw Florial freeze, then saw Florial take an extra second when the ball carried over his head and bounced toward the center-field fence. Cameron took off, chewing up more ground with each stride on his way to third base.

“I just read the way he went back on the ball and knew,” Cameron said. “Once I saw him Cadillac, I just thought of speeding it up a little bit more. That’s when I took off and I took third. I just read little things to help me get to the next base.”

The triple off Masahiro Tanaka led off Sunday’s split-squad game against the Yankees in Tampa. Two days later, Cameron had another extra-base hit, this one at home, turning what looked like a routine hit into a double.

Manager Ron Gardenhire wasn’t there for the triple. He was there for the double. It left an impression.

“He got in the ballgame and right away just made an impact. He just showed you what he can do,” Gardenhire said. “Got a base hit and ended up at second base on it because he was hauling out of the box.

“He wants to play. He likes to play. And he wants people to know that he can play. And he’s going to show it every time he’s out there. He’s a serious kid when it comes to wanting people to understand that he’s going to be a player.”

On Thursday, Cameron added to his week with a nice diving catch in center field, stretching out to snare Mickey Moniak’s sinking liner two pitches after entering as a defensive replacement. The Tigers took a 3-1 loss to the Phillies, but Cameron continued to impress.

“Great catch. Just patted myself on the back,” Gardenhire joked about putting in Cameron just before he made the play.

Mike Cameron, Daz’s father, was part of the first game at Comerica Park, the starting center fielder for the visiting Mariners. Unless something crazy happens, his son will not be in center field when Comerica Park opens its 20th season next month. But if the younger Cameron builds on this spring, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Detroit by season's end.

A Spring Training that began with Cameron fighting the sun for fly balls in center field in the opener has become a statement camp. The Tigers’ fifth-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, he is 6-for-18 at the plate with three doubles and a triple this spring. However, the impression he has left goes beyond the numbers, or even the approach, to the instincts, and even the way he has carried himself in the dugout.

“He’s focused,” Gardenhire said. “He watches pitchers from the dugout, stares at them, sees what they’re doing.”

Part of that is the natural extension of being the son of a Major Leaguer. He not only grew up around the game, he grew up in it, with a father who holds him to high standards. But the only bit of advice Mike Cameron gave his son for his first Major League camp was to be himself.

He has been that. His style is aggressive, notably on the basepaths, but also instinctive. His approach to Spring Training games, he said, has been the same as the regular season.

“Right out of the box, I’m trying to take the extra base,” Cameron said. “Trying to get into scoring position off of any type of base hit, just trying to get to the next bag so those guys can either drive me in or do whatever we need to do to get the job done. Just trying to play the game hard, but play it smart at the same time.”

That goes as well for the outfield, where he has more than held his own since the troublesome fly balls in the exhibition game a couple weeks ago.

The Tigers already have a young center fielder in JaCoby Jones, who is still just 26 years old and led Major League outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved last year. They have another potential center fielder in teenager Parker Meadows, their second-round Draft pick last year.

Cameron is arguably the best overall center fielder in the bunch. If the 22-year-old prospect can carry his momentum into Triple-A Toledo, where he played the final few weeks last season, the Tigers will have a spot for him.

“This guy, he’s got it going on,” Gardenhire said. “He’s going to be a really, really good player. He’s already a good player. He’s going to be even better, I think.”