Tampa Bay Rays star Junior Caminaro is well aware of how potent the New York Yankees are.
While the Rays finished with the American League’s best record and the top seed, the Yankees finished just 4.5 games back of the Rays for the AL East lead. That was despite the fact that reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge appeared in just 66 games with Giancarlo Stanton also appearing in just 24 games. Their pitching staff also wasn’t fully healthy during portions of the season, with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon all dealing with injuries.
Despite the fact that the Yankees were without Judge, they easily swept the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card series, winning their games by a combined score of 18-2.
Caminaro said the Yankees’ best trait is their pitching, singling out ace Cam Schlittler.
“If you see the pitch with the Yankees half, if you see Cam Schlittler throw the other day, it’s the best,” said Caminaro in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “The pitchers the Yankees have, they’re unbelievable.”
Junior Caminaro Said Yankees’ Cam Schlittler is Best Pitcher
The Yankees ranked first in earned run average and ranked towards the top in most major team pitching categories.
A large reason for that is due to the emergence of second-year pitcher Schlittler. Coming into the season, Cole was supposed to be the Yankees’ ace as he has been in recent years. The 36-year-old Cole has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in recent memory, winning the AL Cy Young award in 2023 while leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts over the years. He’s also a six-time All-Star.
However, it was Schlittler who not only established himself as the ace, he established himself as the favorite to win the AL Cy Young award. The 25-year-old led the AL in ERA and posted the following stat line: 14-6, 1.95 ERA and 239 strikeouts in 193.2 innings pitched.
Schlittler will pitch Game 2 of the series with the Yankees going with either Cole or Rodon for Game 1. That means Schlittler will be good to go for Game 5 assuming the series extends that far. The ALDS will start on Saturday at Tropicana Field.
Caminaro regards the young Yankees pitcher as the best in the league.
“He’s a menace,” said Caminaro of Schlittler. “What a cutter. This year, we had no answer for him. “God gave his arm blessing.”
Junior Caminaro Was 2026 Mountain Dew Baja Blast Champion
During the start of the MLB playoffs, Caminaro — who is an AL MVP candidate — is teaming up with Mountain Dew Baja Blast. The 23-year-old star was crowned the Baja Blast Champion after crushing 21 home runs of at least 420 feet. It was more than any other MLB player this season.
Every home run this season of at least 420-plus feet was counted as a “Baja Blast.” Whenever a qualifying home run was hit, fans could go on the official website to claim a free Mountain Dew Baja Blast. The program will continue through the postseason and the World Series and the leaderboard will reset to crown a postseason champion.
“Winning the 2026 MLB Baja Blast Championship is amazing,” said Caminaro. “The best for me and especially when I hit a 421-foot homer, it’s the best.”
Caminaro said the key to hitting big home runs is not trying and overthinking it.
“Let me tell you something — if I try to hit homers, I can’t,” said Caminaro. “When I go to the home plate and I don’t try too much, I hit it.”
Rays’ Junior Caminaro Doesn’t Hold Back on Yankees’ Cam Schlittler