ST. PETERSBURG — When the Rays called up Junior Caminero for the first time last September, it was a shock to many, including the then-20-year-old infielder who said he “kind of lost my breath” over the unusual promotion from Double A to the big leagues.
This year, the timing of Caminero’s status was surprising in a different sense: waiting for his arrival.
Caminero hoped to make the opening day roster, but the Rays instead sent him down with two weeks left in spring training. He started the season at Triple A, and his progress was further delayed by a pair of left quad strains, sidelining him two weeks in April and six-plus from late May into July.
When Caminero completed a rehab assignment and rejoined the Bulls on July 20, he came out swinging, hitting .304 over 19 games with five homers — several notable for their length and exit velocity — and 10 RBIs.
And with their offense struggling and a run at a sixth straight playoff appearance in the balance, the Rays decided after Monday’s loss that it finally was Caminero’s time.
He took this one relatively in stride.
“Actually (a callup) wasn’t really in my thoughts,” he said Tuesday, via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “For me, at that point, I was in Triple A and that was my big leagues. That was my team. I was there to be focused on that team and focus on that. …
“But now I’m here. I’m going to stay focused. I’m ready to get better. I’m ready to focus on what I’m doing now. Stay up here and hopefully continue to work on doing what I need to be doing.”
What Caminero — rated the game’s No. 2 prospect by mlb.com and No. 3 by Baseball America — does really well is hit the ball really hard, showing off his power and eye-popping exit velocity numbers regularly, including a 116.3-mph single in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss.
This season he ranked second among minor-league hitters in average exit velocity (93.3 mph) and hard-hit rate (56.5%), per Statcast. For comparison, Yandy Diaz is the Rays’ leader at 92.4 mph and 49.6%. Caminero also has the second-hardest-hit ball at Triple A (117.2 mph).
“That’s the obvious, that’s his elite skill, right?” baseball operations president Erik Neander said Tuesday. “He has a lot of really good skills for a 21-year-old. He’s a blue-chip prospect. But when he connects with the baseball, it’s special. ... He can hit a ball to rightfield like a power-hitting left-handed hitter. So that’s the draw. That’s what shows up on Twitter. Those are the clips that are the reasons why everyone wanted him here.”
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Explore all your optionsBut, Neander said, it was how Caminero progressed with other parts of his game that factored into waiting until now to call him back up, with initial plans for him to play pretty much every day at third base.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure that the way he organizes the strike zone, the frequency of contact, the defense, those things also have to be in order,” Neander said. “They’re not on Twitter as much. … It’s on us to make sure the entire player is ready for a major-league opportunity, and believe that he’s in a position now where he can benefit most by being here.”
How granular was the decision making on the timing?
Neander said they decided that once Caminero returned to action at Triple A they would give him a couple series and then start evaluating. That came into focus this past weekend, including a 1-for-5 Saturday where the swings and at-bats “were really good” and then a 3-for-4 Sunday that featured a 384-foot, 112.4-mph homer.
“It was like, OK, the timing felt right. As right as it could be,” Neander said. “You wanted to get him the reps and make sure he had enough underneath him coming back from injury, and then ideally, you time it right where those last few games in Triple A he’s feeling pretty good about things, and he should be feeling good about things after that. And we’ll ride it out here.”
Caminero also has an outgoing personality and presence about him, with the potential for star power.
For the record, his actual name is Junior (because it sounds similar to his father Juan’s name, per a story in the Bulls game program by broadcaster Patrick Kinas). His nickname is La Maxima, which translates loosely to “the best.”
His favorite player growing up was Alex Rodriguez and more recently is Manny Machado, who he stays in contact with and will do a jersey exchange with against the Padres in late August.
Though Caminero wore No. 1 last year — “because I was the No. 1 prospect, I came up with that” — he switched back to his usual No. 13, which both A-Rod and Machado wore.
And, further showing his baseball interest, he asked his parents to name his nine years younger brother, Girardi, after the then-Yankees manager.
The Rays got Caminero in a November 2021 trade from Cleveland when he had played only one season of pro ball after signing for $225,000, and at the entry level in the Dominican Summer League. The Rays are among a few teams that heavily scout the low levels, and their work certainly paid off in this case.
“Our pro scouts in the Dominican Republic raved about how advanced Caminero’s bat was compared to his peer group, how the ball made a different sound coming off his bat,” assistant general manager Kevin Ibach said Tuesday.
“Watching a lot of video, there was some question where he would end up defensively, but it was hard to not be impressed by the raw bat speed, bat-to-ball skills and ability to impact the baseball at such a young age. His composure in the box and the ability to slow the game down also really stood out for a teenager.”
Caminero earned the unexpected promotion last year after putting up big numbers between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery (.324, 31 homers, 94 RBIs, .975 OPS in 117 games) as the Rays needed help as they headed to the playoffs. He did OK in seven games, hitting .235 with a homer and seven RBIs, and got two playoff at-bats.
That experience, Caminero said, helped him mature, as did this year’s time at Triple A. Now it’s about staying in the majors.
“I think I’m ready,” he said.
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