Junior Caminero Could Be the Rays’ Next Superstar
Heading into the 2025 season, the Tampa Bay Rays found themselves among the least represented teams on ESPN’s Top 100 MLB Players list. In fact, Shane McClanahan, ranked at No. 67, was the only Rays player to make the cut. Only three teams—the White Sox, Nationals, and Rockies—had zero representation.
While it’s not shocking considering the Rays’ constant roster turnover and budget-conscious strategy, it’s becoming clear that McClanahan might not be Tampa Bay’s lone Top 100 presence for long.
Junior Caminero, the 21-year-old third baseman, is quickly emerging as the Rays’ next big thing.
After making his MLB debut in September 2023, Caminero played in 47 games in 2024, accumulating 177 plate appearances and officially graduating from rookie status. He enters 2025 as the Rays’ everyday third baseman and a breakout candidate poised for a massive leap.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes Caminero could go from being unranked to a Top 25 player by the end of this season.
“The power, the plate discipline, the swing decisions — it’s all there to cement Caminero’s status as one of the game’s rising stars,” Passan wrote.
Caminero’s talent isn’t a surprise to scouts. He was ranked as a top-four prospect across the industry entering the 2024 season and posted elite numbers in the minors — a .307/.374/.548 slash line with 67 home runs, 43 doubles, 8 triples, and 20 steals.
His strike zone awareness is advanced beyond his years, boasting an 18.4% strikeout rate and an 8.8% walk rate in the minors — both better than league average. At the Major League level, he’s already showing improvement, with a 21.1% strikeout rate and increasing plate discipline.
He’s also hitting the ball harder than ever, with a career-best 90.9 mph average exit velocity so far in 2025. The tools are all there, and if he continues to develop, Caminero could soon become a cornerstone for the Rays — and a mainstay on future Top 100 lists.
