Junior Caminero

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #1 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 70/High
  
  Track Record: The Rays have consistently poured resources into scouting the Dominican Summer League to try to find prospects who could be useful trade pickups. It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Often the Rays acquire modest talents, but sometimes the effort yields trades like the one that landed Caminero for Tobias Myers, a righthander who needed to be added to the 40-man roster when the Rays sent him to Cleveland after the 2021 season. Myers was soon designated for assignment, while Caminero turned into one of the top prospects in baseball. After a stint in the Florida Complex League in 2022, he earned a late-season promotion to Low-A Charleston in 2022. He hit .471 in four playoff games to help the RiverDogs win the Carolina League title. Caminero was slated to spend most of 2023 at High-A Bowling Green, but he tore up those plans by blitzing the league, and he got even better after a promotion to Double-A Montgomery. When he made his MLB debut on Sept. 23, he became the second-youngest big leaguer in Rays history, trailing only B.J. Upton.
  
  Scouting Report: Caminero hits the ball harder than almost anyone in baseball. His bat speed is top-of-the-scale, trailing only Giancarlo Stanton, Franchy Cordero and Jo Adell in average bat speed among big leaguers with 25 or more plate appearances, and he had the best 90th percentile exit velocity of any qualifying minor leaguer in 2023. As that bat speed list attests, a fast bat by itself is just a building block for offensive success, but Caminero pairs it with rapidly improving bat-to-ball skills and pitch recognition. He will expand his zone at times, but when he gets a hittable pitch, he rarely misses it. He doesn’t have to sell out to get to his power, and he rarely gets pull-happy. He can wait a little longer on pitches and still drive the ball, and if a pitcher tries to work him away, he can flick his wrists to drive balls to the opposite field. Sixteen of his 32 home runs in 2023 went to right or right-center field. Caminero is an average at defender at third base with a chance to eventually be above-average. He moves well side-to-side but is still learning when to stay back and when to charge balls. His plus arm helps a lot and allows him to be fringy but playable at shortstop. Caminero moves really well for his size. He’ll flash above-average to plus run times and could probably handle right field if the Rays desired.
  
  The Future: The Rays haven’t produced many consistent sluggers, which helps explain why Caminero has the potential to quickly become one of the most prolific home run hitters in team history. His defensive versatility helps with the Rays’ mix-and-match lineup approach. Tampa Bay doesn’t usually call up players straight from Double-A, but having already done so in Caminero’s case, it will be hard to keep him in Triple-A for long in 2024. While he has more power than hitting ability, as a 20-year-old who makes plenty of contact, he could be the rare player who hits for average while challenging for home run crowns. n
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 55 | Power: 80 | Run: 55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60
• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #8 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Caminero signed with Cleveland in 2019, but he had to wait until 2021 to make his pro debut thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Tampa Bay acquired him in November 2021 at the reserve roster deadline in a deal that sent righthander Tobias Myers, who needed to be added to the 40-man roster, to the Guardians. It was a typical Rays trade. They took a flier on a high-upside if far-away prospect. The Guardians designated Myers for assignment in July, while Caminero had an impressive U.S. debut, hitting his way out of the Florida Complex League and into the Low-A Charleston lineup for the final two months of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Caminero is more physically mature than many 18-year-olds, but there's likely further strength and power coming as he gets to his early 20s. He's heavier than his listed 155 pounds. Caminero is strong enough and his hands work well enough that he can get fooled and still manage to hit the ball hard. He will get caught out front but keep his hands back. A thinker at the plate, Caminero rarely makes the same mistake twice. He has played second base, third base and shortstop, but he's not a long-term shortstop. Second or third base is a possibility, but his range is limited and he's not particularly rangy or twitchy. His plus arm is an asset at either spot and would fit in right field as well.
  
  The Future: Caminero will have to keep working on his agility to stay in the dirt, but his hitting ability may handle a move to the outfield one day. Caminero's ceiling is as a 30-plus home run slugger, but he'll have to keep improving as he climbs the ladder. Because he signed in 2019, Caminero will need to be added to the 40-man roster after the 2023 season, which may lead the Rays to speed up his timetable by sending him to High-A Bowling Green to start the season.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Run: 45. Field: 45. Arm: 60

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #5 prospect in 2023

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Caminero signed with Cleveland in 2019, but he had to wait until 2021 to make his pro debut thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Tampa Bay acquired him in November 2021 at the reserve roster deadline in a deal that sent righthander Tobias Myers, who needed to be added to the 40-man roster, to the Guardians. It was a typical Rays trade. They took a flier on a high-upside if far-away prospect. The Guardians designated Myers for assignment in July, while Caminero had an impressive U.S. debut, hitting his way out of the Florida Complex League and into the Low-A Charleston lineup for the final two months of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Caminero is more physically mature than many 18-year-olds, but there's likely further strength and power coming as he gets to his early 20s. He's heavier than his listed 155 pounds. Caminero is strong enough and his hands work well enough that he can get fooled and still manage to hit the ball hard. He will get caught out front but keep his hands back. A thinker at the plate, Caminero rarely makes the same mistake twice. He has played second base, third base and shortstop, but he's not a long-term shortstop. Second or third base is a possibility, but his range is limited and he's not particularly rangy or twitchy. His plus arm is an asset at either spot and would fit in right field as well.
  
  The Future: Caminero will have to keep working on his agility to stay in the dirt, but his hitting ability may handle a move to the outfield one day. Caminero's ceiling is as a 30-plus home run slugger, but he'll have to keep improving as he climbs the ladder. Because he signed in 2019, Caminero will need to be added to the 40-man roster after the 2023 season, which may lead the Rays to speed up his timetable by sending him to High-A Bowling Green to start the season.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Run: 45. Field: 45. Arm: 60
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Caminero signed with Cleveland in 2019, but he had to wait until 2021 to make his pro debut thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Tampa Bay acquired him in November 2021 at the reserve roster deadline in a deal that sent righthander Tobias Myers, who needed to be added to the 40-man roster, to the Guardians. It was a typical Rays trade. They took a flier on a high-upside if far-away prospect. The Guardians designated Myers for assignment in July, while Caminero had an impressive U.S. debut, hitting his way out of the Florida Complex League and into the Low-A Charleston lineup for the final two months of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Caminero is more physically mature than many 18-year-olds, but there's likely further strength and power coming as he gets to his early 20s. He's heavier than his listed 155 pounds. Caminero is strong enough and his hands work well enough that he can get fooled and still manage to hit the ball hard. He will get caught out front but keep his hands back. A thinker at the plate, Caminero rarely makes the same mistake twice. He has played second base, third base and shortstop, but he's not a long-term shortstop. Second or third base is a possibility, but his range is limited and he's not particularly rangy or twitchy. His plus arm is an asset at either spot and would fit in right field as well.
  
  The Future: Caminero will have to keep working on his agility to stay in the dirt, but his hitting ability may handle a move to the outfield one day. Caminero's ceiling is as a 30-plus home run slugger, but he'll have to keep improving as he climbs the ladder. Because he signed in 2019, Caminero will need to be added to the 40-man roster after the 2023 season, which may lead the Rays to speed up his timetable by sending him to High-A Bowling Green to start the season.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50. Power: 60. Run: 45. Field: 45. Arm: 60
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Midseason Update: The Rays picked up Caminero in the deal that sent righthander Tobias Myers to the Guardians. The move helped Tampa Bay get out of a 40-man roster jam as Myers needed to be added to it while Caminero is years away from a protection decision. Caminero has shown physicality this year and an energetic approach. Long term he has to show he can slow the game down to stay at shortstop, but he should be able to handle third or second base if he can&#39t stick at short. He has good hands and smooth actions. He should develop power, but for now it&#39s a contact-oriented approach with solid bat-to-ball skills.