Few things stop people in their tracks like the sight of Junior Caminero taking batting practice. Seeing the Rays’ third baseman step into the batter’s box during a game can also grab one’s attention. If anyone needed a reminder as to why, all they had to do was see the rocket he launched off Erick Fedde of the White Sox on Friday night.
The estimated distance of “Cami’s” fourth-inning solo shot to the left of center was pegged at 453 feet, the second longest in an 82-homer career through Saturday. There is no telling how far the ball might have sailed as it clanged off the D-ring hanging from the roof of Tropicana Field and 59 feet above the playing surface.
The blast was Caminero’s 75th since the start of last season, which was his first full season in the big leagues. It was also his 30th home run of 2026, good for second in the American League. It also snapped a 12-game homer drought, which is his longest of the past two years and second longest of his career behind a 15-gamer in September 2024 that began a couple of weeks after he called up from Triple-A Durham.
Reaching the 30-homer mark may not in and of itself raise eyebrows a year after Caminero hit 45. Consider, though, that there are two months and 50-plus games remaining on the schedule. Hence, it is easy to see how another 40-plus homer season could be in order.
“Thirty is a good number at this point of the season,” he said, after becoming the second Tampa Bay player (Jose Canseco with 33 in 1999) to hit 30 homers before the schedule turned to August. “Really thankful for everything that I was given last year and have been given this year so far, but I’m not done yet.”
Since Caminero’s birthday was July 5, this is considered his age-22 season as June 30 serves as MLB’s cut-off date. Given that qualifier, Caminero, who debuted in September 2023, became the 12th player in the modern era (since 1900) with multiple 30-homer seasons before an age-23 season. It is a list that includes Jimmie Foxx (1929-30), who was the first, Ted Williams (1939, 1941), Frank Robinson (1956, 1958) and Mike Trout (2012, 2014).
As far as the Tampa Bay franchise is concerned, Caminero joined Evan Longoria (four), Carlos Pena (three) and Brandon Lowe (two) as the only players with multiple 30-homer campaigns. He and Pena (three) are by themselves with consecutive such seasons.
In the larger picture, Caminero has become a noticeably better hitter. He played 154 games last season, batted a solid .264 and drew 41 walks. Through Saturday’s 1-0 win over the White Sox, he had played each of the Rays’ 110 games and was hitting .280 with 60 bases on balls. Caminero has batted third in nearly half the team’s games (52) and has also been penciled in at the second spot in the order (35) as well as cleanup (23).
“I am trying to be selective,” he said. “I am not trying to chase and put myself in bad situations. It’s really important to keep being selective and just keep an eye for good pitches that I can hit.”
Caminero, who has driven in a team-high 66 runs after placing fifth in the American League with 110 RBI last season, has impressed his manager with his level of maturity at the plate.
“He’s done really good job of understanding who he is as a hitter,” said Kevin Cash. “He knows how special and how talented he is hitting the ball out of the ballpark to all fields. He also has learned, which I would say is better this year than last, is the quality of the at-bat, taking the walk and waiting to get into a hitter’s count and not trying to expand too much.”
