{"id":94719,"date":"2025-01-28T11:55:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=94719"},"modified":"2025-01-28T11:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:55:11","slug":"junior-caminero-rays-breakout-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/28\/junior-caminero-rays-breakout-season\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hidden Gem Ready for MLB Stardom This Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex-shrink-0 flex flex-col relative items-end\">\n<div class=\"pt-0\">\n<div class=\"gizmo-bot-avatar flex h-8 w-8 items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-full\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"relative p-1 rounded-sm flex items-center justify-center bg-token-main-surface-primary text-token-text-primary h-8 w-8\">As spring training approaches, Junior Caminero is quickly rising on the list of breakout candidates for the upcoming MLB season. His rise to stardom came to focus with a thrilling moment in Game 7 of the LIDOM championship, where his Leones del Escogido faced Tigres de Licey. With the game tied in the top of the ninth, Caminero launched a 454-foot homer off Jairo Asencio, giving Escogido the lead in dramatic fashion. His electric home run trot, lasting almost a minute, became an iconic celebration in the winter league.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"555119d6-06e0-4157-a149-83c58c054546\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o-mini\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p>Earlier in the game, he had already tested the wall with a 442-foot double. By the end of the championship-clinching game, Caminero was 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits and three runs scored.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">An all-time home run trot from Junior Caminero with an incredible call to match. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N7d3WhqqXj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/N7d3WhqqXj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffPassan\/status\/1884077476240060630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>His standout performance in LIDOM, where he batted .418 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 24 RBIs across 31 games, further solidified his status as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/02\/14\/mlb-prospects-spring-training-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">most exciting prospects<\/a> in baseball. With spring training on the horizon, Caminero is ready to take the next step toward stardom in 2025. Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6092048\/2025\/01\/28\/mlb-breakout-players-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Bowden of The Athletic<\/a> is on board with the hype.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Junior Caminero Could Be MLB&#8217;s Next All-Star<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;Caminero and his elite bat speed are ready for a breakout season that will probably include his first All-Star appearance. He\u2019s torn up the Dominican Winter League with Leones del Escogido. Even impressing his manager, MLB great Albert Pujols, so much that he described him to me as &#8216;a future Hall of Famer, God willing.&#8217; Besides raking at the dish, Caminero has improved his defense at third base this winter by working with Pujols and the coaching staff. Caminero has had a taste of the majors over the past two years, but he\u2019s primed for much more in 2025. His loud barrel contact is as impressive as his hard-hit rate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>With a combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/07\/behind-numbers-rays-third-basemen\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">elite bat speed<\/a>, impressive hard-hit rates, and his dominant LIDOM performance, Caminero is primed to make a significant impact. While his major league experience is still limited, he\u2019s ready to take the next step toward stardom.<\/p>\n<p>Under the guidance of Albert Pujols, Caminero&#8217;s development has accelerated, making him one of the most exciting prospects to watch this year. Caminero got to the majors for good as a 20-year-old and held his own, hitting .249\/.299\/.424. There\u2019s little doubt he\u2019ll hit, as he has already shown high-end power potential in the majors with a 116.3 mph max exit velocity and one of the fastest bat speeds in the game. There isn&#8217;t much speed in Caminero&#8217;s game, but he could be an Austin Riley-level hitter.<\/p>\n<h3>The Electric Bat Speed That Sets Caminero Apart<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Just electric,&#8221; said Chad Mottola, the Rays&#8217; hitting coach, of Caminero. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if I&#8217;ve seen somebody hit the ball consistently as hard as he does.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That raw power is Caminero&#8217;s calling card. It&#8217;s the special skill that made him MLB Pipeline&#8217;s No. 1 overall prospect after the graduation of Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday. Caminero&#8217;s incredible power carried him through the minors and to the majors with Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n<p>This power comes from his elite bat speed. Mottola attributes it to Caminero&#8217;s quick hands and innate ability.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something that some people have built-in,&#8221; Mottola said. &#8220;Some guys are blessed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Caminero&#8217;s Potential Came Early<\/h3>\n<p>Caminero\u2019s full potential showed during his debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League in 2021. He posted an impressive .295\/.380\/.534 line, with nine home runs in 43 games. His performance caught the Rays&#8217; attention, thanks to their thorough scouting in the complex leagues. Their no-stone-unturned approach helped them identify Caminero&#8217;s unique offensive skill set at a young age.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Caminero has only continued to develop. He&#8217;s showcasing his elite bat speed, raw power, and ability to make consistent hard contact. These traits have made him one of the most promising young players in the Rays&#8217; system, and he\u2019s ready to build on his early success as he enters the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flex-shrink-0 flex flex-col relative items-end\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"pt-0\">\n<div class=\"gizmo-bot-avatar flex h-8 w-8 items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-full\">Main Photo: \u00a9 Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As spring training approaches, Junior Caminero is quickly rising on the list of breakout candidates for the upcoming MLB season. His rise to stardom came to focus with a thrilling moment in Game 7 of the LIDOM championship, where his Leones del Escogido faced Tigres de Licey. With the game tied in the top of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":94721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1071],"tags":[625,5780,28375],"class_list":["post-94719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rays","category-mlb","tag-albert-pujols","tag-jackson-holliday","tag-junior-caminero"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94719"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94722,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94719\/revisions\/94722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}