DRB Prospect Review: #1 Junior Caminero
Despite nagging injuries, Junior Caminero proved he could be a slugger in the big leagues
Over the offseason, the Draybay community takes part in an exercise in which we compile a list of 30 prospects in the Rays system based on popular vote.
Now that the 2024 season has concluded, we can look back at these rankings and see how each individual player performed.
Reminder, this is a review of the prospects ranked heading into the 2024 season. This is not an updated ranking. Draysbay will begin the voting for the 2025 community top prospects later this offseason.
We have already covered the following:
- #30. Erick Lara.
- #29. Kenny Piper
- #28. Tanner Murray
- #27. Jacob Lopez
- #26. Marcus Johnson
- #25. Cole Wilcox
- #24. Dru Baker
- #23. Trevor Martin
- #22. Joe Rock
- #21. Ian Seymour
- #20. Tre’ Morgan
- #19. Brailer Guerrero
- #18. Jose Urbina
- #17. Mason Auer
- #16. Adrian Santana
- #15. Chandler Simpson
- #14. Osleivis Basabe
- #13. Mason Montgomery
- #12. Austin Shenton
- #11. Colton Ledbetter
- #10. Santiago Suarez
- #9. Dominic Keegan
- #8. Jonny DeLuca
- #7. Yoniel Curet
- #6. Brayden Taylor
- #5. Curtis Mead
- #4. Xavier Isaac
- #3. Shane Baz
- #2. Carson Williams
We finish the reviews at #1.
1. Junior Caminero
Before the Season
20 | BT: R/R | 5’ 11” | 157
A+ | .356/.409/.685 (1.094 OPS, 190 wRC+) 159 PA, 11 HR, 2 SB
AA | .309/.373/.548 (.921 OPS, 140 wRC+) 351 PA, 20 HR, 3 SB
MLB | .235/.278/.353 (.631 OPS, 77 wRC+) 36 PA, 1 HR, 0 SB
Fast forward a few weeks into 2024 and Caminero might be considered the top prospect in baseball. His cup of coffee in 2023 at 19-years old was a well earned (if not surprising) move as the Rays tried to fill the void at short stop, even though he’s not expected to play that position long term. Caminero has 80-grade power, exceptional bat speed, and surprised some evaluators with his above average hit tool. He has the makings of Tampa Bay’s third baseman of the future, and an All-Star if everything comes together at the plate.
How it Went
After making his big league debut in 2023, Caminero was optioned to Triple-A Durham prior to the regular season. Most expected it to be a brief stay, but Caminero would be plagued by nagging injuries for the better part of the first half of the season. He spent several weeks on the Injured List and even while activated, the injuries still seem to affect his play. Over a 17 game stretch from May 16th through July 20th (interrupted by a 6-week IL stint), Caminero hit .148/.257/.377. However, immediately following that stretch, Caminero’s bat awoke and he registered a 128 wRC+ over his next 18 games. The Rays then promoted him to the big leagues in mid-August. During his time with Rays, Caminero demonstrated an elite offensive profile as he posted some of the highest Bat Speed, Barrel%, and Max EV in all of baseball.
Final 2024 Statline:
CPX: .235/.409/.824 | 3 HR | 0 SB | 9.1 K% | 22.7 BB% | 199 wRC+ | 22 PA
AAA: .276/.331/.498 | 13 HR | 1 SB | 21.2 K% | 6.8 BB% | 111 wRC+ | 236 PA
MLB: .248/.299/.424 | 6 HR | 2 SB | 21.5 K% | 6.2 BB% | 105 wRC+ | 177 PA | 0.6 fWAR
Junior Caminero has graduated for prospect consideration