Junior Caminero has turned the American League MVP conversation into something a lot less tidy than the betting markets would like. Yordan Alvarez still owns the cleaner offensive line, but Caminero’s combination of power, durability and everyday work at third base gives Tampa Bay a player with the fuller MVP profile.
Start with the production. Entering play September 17, Caminero leads the AL with 41 home runs.
He has also piled up 96 RBIs, 93 runs scored and 161 hits in 151 games, while hitting .279 with an .898 OPS. That’s loud enough on its own.
What pushes it further is where and how he’s doing it: almost every day, at one of the sport’s most demanding infield spots.
At 24, Caminero has done something only one other player in history has managed at a younger age. He has become the second-youngest player ever to record multiple 40-homer seasons, trailing only Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews.
That matters because it frames the season as more than a brief surge. This is sustained star-level impact.
Alvarez, to be clear, has put together an excellent season of his own for Houston. He enters September 17 hitting .310 with 164 hits, 39 homers, 98 RBIs and 96 runs in 148 games. His .428 on-base percentage, .594 slugging percentage and 1.022 OPS separate him from Caminero in pure rate stats, and he leads the AL batting race while spending much of the year in Triple Crown territory.
If this were simply a race for the best hitter, Alvarez would have a strong claim.
But MVP is supposed to be about total value, and that’s where Caminero’s case gets stronger. Alvarez has mainly worked as Houston’s designated hitter, with 124 starts at DH and just 23 in left field through mid-September. Caminero, meanwhile, has had to show up at third base every day, deal with balls in play, fire throws across the diamond and still anchor Tampa Bay’s lineup.
That defensive responsibility is not a side note. It’s part of the job description every night.
Alvarez’s value comes almost entirely from the batter’s box. Caminero’s comes from the batter’s box and a premium infield position.
The home run gap is narrow - Caminero leads by two - and Alvarez has the better slash line. Still, the award should go to the player who has provided the most complete package over the full season. Caminero has done that while appearing in 151 games, and Tampa Bay’s 92 wins show how central he has been to the team’s success.
Alvarez may remain the favorite. But if voters are serious about rewarding a 162-game player who hits 40-plus homers and handles a demanding defensive role, Caminero has the stronger American League MVP argument.
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