The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly calling up their top prospect, Junior Caminero.
The 21-year old infielder was originally acquired by the Rays following the 2021 season as Tampa Bay traded Tobias Myers to Cleveland to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Since then, Caminero has surged to the top of prospect rankings last season thanks to a remarkable season in which he displayed tremendous power. Starting the 2023 campaign in High-A, Caminero would end the year with a brief stint in the big leagues. Overall during that minor league season, Caminero hit .324/.384/.591 with 31 HR over just 117 games. During his brief foray with the Rays, he had 8 hits (including a homerun) in 36 trips to the plate.
Caminero was expected to be a main cog in the Rays lineup this season, but endured multiple injuries that shelved him at different points of the campaign relegating him to just 53 games in Triple-A. Overall, Caminero was hitting .276/.331/.498 with 13 HR over 236 plate appearances with the Durham Bulls.
The offensive tools that Caminero possesses are enough to make scouts salivate with some grading his raw power at the top of the 80-grade scale with the unique ability of actually allowing to be put to use in the batter’s box. Caminero is among the elite when it comes to average exit velocity; according to Baseball Savant, Caminero currently holds an average EV of 93.3
A capable third baseman that is also able to play second base and in a pinch can fill in for a shortstop, the Rays will easily be able to find spots to plug Caminero into the starting lineup. There is also speculation that Jose Caballero could be moved to help facilitate Caminero’s place on the active roster.
The corresponding roster move for Caminero’s promotion has not been announced.
