Why Pedro Martinez isn’t surprised by Rays star Junior Caminero’s stellar success appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Tampa Bay Rays may not have the most star-studded roster, but they get the job done despite having one of the smallest budgets in the big leagues. But it’s not like they don’t have a star who puts butts on seats. They have Junior Caminero, a legitimate candidate to win the 2026 AL MVP award, to lead the charge for their offense anyhow.
With the way Caminero is carrying himself, one would think that he has at least half a decade of experience in the major leagues. But he is just in his second full season in the majors, and he’s already made an instant impact for the Rays.
Caminero’s success in MLB was far from a guarantee. After all, the team the Rays are facing in the 2026 ALCS, the Cleveland Guardians, gave up on Caminero back when he was just an 18-year-old prospect — trading him away for a relief pitcher that didn’t even pitch a single inning for them in the big leagues. But for Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, he is not surprised at all to see Caminero be this big of a weapon for Tampa Bay.
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“I’m not surprised by Junior Caminero. You see little leaguers grow up with that swag. Every Dominican takes pride in playing the game because it’s not just a sport, it’s culture. This is what they love to do so they step out expecting to have a great game,” Martinez wrote on his official account on X.
Caminero was an instant breakout hit in the Rays’ minor-league system after the Guardians’ ill-advised trade almost five years ago. He was so good that he already made his big-league debut by age 20, although he wouldn’t be a fixture in Tampa Bay’s everyday lineup until the 2025 season.
This past season, Caminero put up 42 home runs and 101 runs batted in on an OPS of .884. At the time of writing, Caminero and the Rays are currently leading Game 2 of the ALCS against the Guardians, 3-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning.
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