Junior Caminero is about to carve out a little more Rays history on baseball’s biggest midsummer stage.
The Tampa Bay third baseman will start at the hot corner and bat cleanup for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, becoming the first Rays player to start consecutive All-Star games. It’s a notable milestone for a player who just turned 23 on July 5 and has already become one of the central reasons Tampa Bay is back in first place in the AL East, three games ahead of the New York Yankees entering the break.
This year’s selection feels different for Caminero, too. Last summer, he made the team as a replacement for Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians, who didn’t participate. This time, he got there the hard way and the satisfying way: by being voted in as a starter by the fans.
The AL’s manager, Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Schneider, will get a front-row seat to Caminero’s power instead of having to scheme against it. Schneider will have Caminero in the lineup, while Rays teammate Yandy Diaz comes off the bench as the backup designated hitter behind Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros.
Caminero advanced out of Phase 1 with Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays, and even with an entire nation behind Okamoto, MLB fans still put Caminero in the starting lineup at third base. The full AL starting group for Tuesday night includes Mike Trout in center, Yordan Alvarez at DH, Shea Langeliers at catcher, Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop, Cody Bellinger in right, Ben Rice at first, Riley Greene in left, Ernie Clement at second, and Dylan Cease on the mound.
The numbers behind Caminero’s rise are loud. Through the first half, he’s posted a .279/.372/.555 slash line with 28 home runs and 59 RBI, building on what was already a historic 2025. He’s doing it with a swing that’s as violent as any in the sport, averaging 79.9 mph.
And there’s still room for more. Caminero is putting the ball on the ground in 49.5% of his at-bats, which leaves the door open for even bigger power numbers if he starts lifting the ball more, especially to the pull side. Even if that never changes, he’s already one of the game’s most dangerous sluggers.
In Other News...
Junior Caminero Is Creating A Rays Dilemma Fans Know Too Well
Junior Caminero is already talking like a player who understands the business side of stardom, and that matters for the Rays as much as anything he does at the plate. In an interview with ESPNs Jeff Passan, the young slugger acknowledged where he fits among baseballs brightest young names, the kind of company that includes Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., while also reinforcing why Tampa Bay views him as more than just another promising talent. He has already piled up multiple home run records for players 23 or younger, and for a club that has built its identity around finding and developing impact bats, Caminero looks like the rare one worth centering an entire future around.
That is where the familiar Rays dilemma comes back into view. Tampa Bay would love to keep a superstar in his prime, but doing so usually means paying a hefty price, and the franchises budget realities make that conversation a lot more complicated than the on-field fit. The result is a tug-of-war the Rays know well: a homegrown player good enough to anchor the lineup for years, and a long-term future in Tampa Bay that suddenly feels far less certain than the production suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Junior Caminero Shares What Is Fueling The Rays' First-Place Push
The Rays have spent much of the season looking like a team that knows exactly who it is, and Junior Caminero says the answer starts in the clubhouse. Tampa Bays first-place push has been built on more than timely hitting and pitching, with Caminero pointing to the way the group has stayed connected and the leadership that has helped keep everything moving in the same direction.
Caminero has also been doing his part on the field, hitting .279 with 28 homers and 59 RBIs in 94 games, and he carried that momentum into the break after taking part in the Home Run Derby. Now the Rays turn back to the standings and a series against the Red Sox, with the clubhouse tone and the steady presence of several veterans still shaping how this stretch feels for a team trying to protect its lead. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Fans Still Cant Believe How Yordan Alvarez Ended Up In Houston
A lot of the All-Star conversation this week has centered on how far some of these players have come, and Yordan Alvarez remains one of the best examples. The Astros slugger has become a centerpiece in Houston after arriving through a transaction that now looks like one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory, the kind of move that still makes rival fan bases shake their heads when the midsummer showcase rolls around.
The broader point is hard to miss: plenty of the games biggest names did not start their careers where they are starring now. Whether it is a pitcher who found another level after changing organizations or a hitter who blossomed after a new opportunity, the All-Star stage keeps reminding teams that talent can be hidden in plain sight. For Houston, Alvarez is the reminder that one misread can change a franchises trajectory for years. [Read more 🡒]