Junior Caminero has pushed himself into rare company this season, and ESPN’s midseason player rankings reflected that surge with the Rays star landing at No. 7 on the outlet’s top 50 list.
Tampa Bay had multiple players on the ranking, but Caminero stood out as the club’s highest-rated name. The 23-year-old has turned a breakout 2025 into an even louder 2026, putting together a season that has him squarely among the best hitters in baseball.
His numbers tell the story. Caminero is batting .278/.365/.531 with an .896 OPS, while piling up 35 home runs, 84 RBIs, 20 doubles, a triple and 81 runs scored. That power production has put him second in the American League in home runs and tied for fourth overall, third in the AL in RBIs, third in the AL and sixth overall in OPS, and second in the AL and eighth overall in slugging percentage.
What has made the jump even more striking is the refinement in his approach. Caminero has done a much better job of working counts, swinging more often at strikes and avoiding the chase game outside the zone.
His walk rate has climbed to 11.8% in 2026, a big step up from 6.3% in 2025. He has 68 walks in 132 games this year, compared to 41 in 154 games last season.
The strikeouts have also come down. Caminero’s strikeout rate sat at 19.1% last year, and it has dipped further to 18.3% this season.
That production has mattered for more than just his individual standing. Caminero has been a major reason the Rays have stayed in first place in the division since the end of June, helping keep Tampa Bay on top of the AL East even with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox playing solid baseball lately.
His rise has made him one of the clearest breakout stars in the sport, and ESPN’s No. 7 ranking only reinforces how quickly he has gone from promising young hitter to legitimate top-10 player. The way he’s performing now, a top-five - and maybe even top-three - finish in AL MVP voting looks very much in play.
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Rhymes spent time as a Major League infielder before moving into the executive side, where he is now part of the Dodgers front office. For a Rays audience, it is the kind of cross-check from the baseball world that stands out because it connects an old player development name to one of the sports more aggressive organizations. Whether Houston truly gravitates toward that profile remains to be seen, but the search is just getting started and Rhymes is at least on the radar. [Read more 🡒]
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In 12 innings for Arizona, Littell allowed 10 earned runs and five home runs, a stretch that left him in a difficult spot almost as soon as he arrived. For Tampa Bay, it is another reminder of how quickly pitching careers can swing from one opportunity to the next, especially for a pitcher trying to hold onto a role in the big leagues. [Read more 🡒]
Why One Contender May Still See Value In A Former Dbacks Arm
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One name that has surfaced in that search is Zack Littell, the right-hander recently released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. For a contender trying to survive a thin stretch in the bullpen, Littell offers the kind of low-cost, experienced arm that can fit into a mix-and-match approach, and the Yankees are reportedly among the teams showing interest as they look for another layer of depth. [Read more 🡒]