Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero opened the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby with the kind of pop that reminded everyone why he’s become one of the most dangerous young power bats in the game.
He wasted no time making noise in the first round, going deep 12 times in 20 swings. That total was second-best in the round, behind only Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox and Jordan Walker of the St.
Louis Cardinals. It was enough to move Caminero on, but the next round brought a tougher test.
Matched up head-to-head with Walker, Caminero put up five home runs in 15 swings. One of them traveled a massive 491 feet, the longest blast of the night. Still, the number left him short, and Walker moved on with ease after homering in six of his first seven swings to knock out the Rays star and reach the finals against either Contreras or Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.
For Caminero, the ending stung a little more because this was his second crack at the Derby. In 2025, he made it all the way to the finals before falling 18-15 to Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners. This time, he came up short before the title round.
Even so, it’s hard to look at Caminero’s Derby track record and not see a player who’s close to breaking through. He turned 23 on July 5, and he’s already built a reputation as one of the sport’s most electric young sluggers. Between his two Derby appearances, he has hit 51 home runs in MLB regular season games, a number that puts him firmly in the elite power-hitter conversation.
Had he won this year, Caminero would have become the youngest player ever to take home the Home Run Derby crown. That would have fit neatly with the kind of first half he put together before the All-Star break, when he hammered 13 home runs over his final 19 games.
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