Fastball

Tampa Bay Rays Infielder Earns Major Distinction, Per Baseball America

Junior Caminero is the new No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America.

Brady Farkas

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) runs to second base against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Tropicana Field on Sept 2.
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) runs to second base against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Tropicana Field on Sept 2. / nathan ray seebeck-usa today sports
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According to Baseball America, Tampa Bay Rays infielderJunior Caminero is the new No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. They updated their Top 100 rankings on Tuesday and put this note out on social media:

THERE IS A NEW NO. 1 PROSPECT IN BASEBALL!

Our UPDATED Top 100 is here:

With the graduation of Jackson Holliday (Baltimore Orioles), Caminero is also the No. 1 prospect in the MLB.com Top 100.

The 21-year-old is currently up with the big-league club. He's hitting .275 in 19 games for Tampa Bay. He has three home runs, nine RBI and two stolen bases.

He was hitting .275 in the minors this year with 16 homers and 39 RBI.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Starting from an open stance, the right-handed slugger routinely unloads on pitches of all kinds (especially fastballs) with exit velocities that would pop up Major League leaderboards right now, nevermind ones adjusted for age. It’s near top-of-the-scale power that plays to all fields -- eight of his 20 Double-A homers went the other way to right -- and it’s a big reason why Tampa Bay wanted him nearby in the playoffs. His plate discipline also improved as he climbed the ladder, and that, combined with his loud contact, should help him be a plus overall hitter, too.

Caminero can play second or third base and should assume the position full-time for the Rays in the 2025 season. Though they will miss the playoffs this year, Tampa Bay is well positioned moving forward given that pitchers Drew Rasmussen, Jeffry Springs and Shane McClanahan should all be fully healthy.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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