Rays' Caminero Continues to Shine After All-Star Break

“I think we all marvel at how he’s continued to adjust and go through some ups and downs throughout and watch pitchers attack him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Friday’s win. “He covers a lot of different pitches. If he’s in the strike zone swinging at strikes, he’s pretty dangerous.”

Caminero is the fifth player in franchise history to hit 25 homers within the team’s first 100 games of a season, joining Logan Morrison (2017, 26 HR), Carlos Peña (2009, 25 HR), Jose Canseco (1999, 31 HR) and Fred McGriff (1999, 25 HR). 

“You know, it’s just special stuff,” Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot said about Caminero before Saturday’s game. “And the way he’s going out, understanding the situations that he doesn’t have to hit four home runs a night for us to win ball games. He can just go out there and take his at-bats.”

Pepiot likened Caminero to former sluggers Josh Hamilton and Manny Ramirez.

“There are so many guys you can compare him to, and the fact that he’s 22, and he’s got the head on his shoulders that he does, and he is mature as he is, he’s going to be a very, very good player in this league for a very long time.”

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