It’s no secret Junior Caminero is one of the fastest rising stars in Major League Baseball.
The 23-year-old completed just his third full season with the Tampa Bay Rays, helping lead them to the best mark in the American League with a 98-64 record. The Rays are back in the playoffs for the first time since the 2023 season when Caminero made his MLB debut despite having ranking 23rd in MLB payroll.
Caminero is coming off of his second consecutive MLB All-Star appearance after posting another season of 40-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI’s. It’s his second consecutive year notching such a season, becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
His final stat line for the 2026 season? 42 home runs, 101 RBI’s, .276 batting average in 162 games played.
While Caminero is clearly an AL MVP favorite — the Houston Astros‘ Yordan Alvarez is considered the favorite — he said he’s not even thinking about the award as the Rays begin their postseason run. Tampa Bay raced out to a 1-0 ALDS lead over the New York Yankees this weekend.
“Me, I try not to think lot about this,” said Caminero in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “I not try to think — just play baseball, not putting pressure myself. The numbers are gonna be there. So let’s see what we got.”
The Rays are looking to win their first World Series in franchise history. Despite being an AL contender for a number of years, Tampa Bay has never completed the deed. The Rays made their first World Series appearance in 2008 only to lose in five games to the Philadelphia Phillies. They lost in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
During Caminero’s rookie year in 2023, they were swept out of the Wild Card Series. Caminero makes it clear it’ll be different this time around now that he has experience under his belt in the playoffs.
“2023, this was my rookie year, nervous a little bit,” said Caminero. “Especially when I see the fans in the crowd. The baseball is dominant in October. It’s different for me. And now we have the comfort, we have the team, we have everybody looking for Saturday. So I can’t wait.”
Rays Ride Drew Rasmussen’s Excellent Start to 1-0 Series Lead Over Yankees
The Rays got off to a dominant 1-0 start by the stellar play of pitcher Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen pitched eight innings and struck out 10 batters while allowing just one hit. The 31-year-old took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and set a franchise record with his strikeouts.
“I think my heart rate was a hair higher tonight than it was [the last time],” Rasmussen said. “I don’t think I called a single pitch of my own. I just tried my best to execute, in all honesty, whatever pitch Liam (Hicks) called.”
The performance continued Rasmussen’s dominance over New York, as he has a 1.81 ERA in 11 career outings (10 starts). It’s the lowest mark against New York in the past 100 seasons.
Junior Caminero Teams With Mountain Dew as Baja Blast Champion
During the start of the MLB playoffs, Caminero — 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.
Caminero 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 Caminero. “When I go to the home plate and I don’t try too much, I hit it.”
Rays’ Junior Caminero’s on AL MVP Race, Astros’ Yordan Alvarez