It has been nearly 20 years since the Tampa Bay Rays had a player hit at least 40 homeruns in a season. On Tuesday, Junior Caminero reached that total in dramatic fashion as he launched a game tying homerun in a crucial game against the Seattle Mariners.
Caminero is playing with an extreme intensity as the Rays look to make one of the most improbable runs to the playoffs in MLB history.
Over the past three days, the team has done everything it’s needed to win and now they have won six consecutive games and are just 2.5 games back in the Wild Card chase.
Junior Caminero is a large part of the reason for their success.
On Tuesday, Caminero singled in the first to put the Rays ahead. Then in the 6th, Caminero launched the game tying homerun. An inning later, Caminero laced a double to put the Rays ahead once again.
Over the past three days, Caminero has played like an MVP, hitting .615/.615/1.077 with the aforementioned HR and has accrued 0.5 fWAR.
Caminero has had an incredible season, made even more incredible by the fact that he just turned 22-years old in early July. Thus far in 2025, Caminero is hitting .263/.304/.540 with 40 HR, registering a 126 wRC+ and has accrued 3.9 fWAR.
Since returning from the All-Star break, Caminero has been a man on fire, hitting .287/.331/.629 with 17 HR over 181 PA; Caminero has the 12th highest fWAR in baseball over that time and has the 11th highest wRC+.
DRAYSBAY PLAYER OF THE SERIES
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