Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Junior Caminero Moves Up List with Hall of Fame Names

Caminero turned 22 on July 5.

In Good Company

The all-time leaders on the 22-and-under list who are ahead of Caminero on the list include three members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: legendary Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench (40 home runs, 1970), New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio (39 in 1937), and Eddie Mathews (36 in 1953), who hit at least 40 homers in three of his first four seasons.

The other three? San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (40 home runs, 2021), Cody Bellinger, who was National League Rookie of the Year in 2017 when he hit 37 in his first 116 games, and Toronto Blue Jays All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (35 home runs, 2021).

In the first two weeks of August, Caminero has hit seven home runs through 12 games, six of which have come in Tampa Bay’s past seven games. Entering play Thursday, Caminero was sixth in MLB in homers, trailing only Seattle’s Eugenio Suarez (37) for the most home runs among third basemen. His .532 slugging percentage also was second to Suarez (.536) for the best in their position.

Tampa Bay acquired Caminero in a trade with the Cleveland franchise on Nov. 19, 2021, for right-handed pitcher Tobias Myers. Caminero made his MLB debut on Sept. 23, 2023, against the Blue Jays. Now, in his first full season, Caminero is hitting .262 with 84 RBIs and a .300 on-base percentage. 

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