Junior Caminero powers Rays to win with monumental performance

Despite still being a week shy of his 23rd birthday (July 5), Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero is already in the midst of his fourth MLB season. 

On Thursday, Caminero powered the Rays to a 13-2 win over the Kansas City Royals and showed why he has a long and promising career in front of him. 

One of baseball's brightest young stars crushed not one, not two, but three home runs as part of a six-RBI effort on the day. And even though Caminero is no stranger to the long ball — he now has 71 so far in 282 MLB games, Thursday marked the first three-homer game of his career. 

Junior Caminero clubbed three HRs in a game for the first time 

Caminero got started early, going yard in the opening frame with one on and one out. He would homer again in both the fifth and eighth innings. Prior to his trifecta of long balls, his last multi-homer game was on April 24. 

Lifting the Rays to contention, Caminero, a Dominican Republic native who made his major league debut in September 2023, has 19 home runs, 43 RBI, 45 walks and 49 runs scored in 78 games and 295 at-bats so far in 2026. He's also hitting .285 with a .377 OBP and a slugging percentage of .519, the eighth highest clip in the American League.