Rays' Junior Caminero flashes exit velocity and power vs. Dodgers

The Tampa Bay Rays took just the middle game of a three-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend. However, Tampa Bay got very strong results from their top prospect Junior Caminero, who did some great things with his bat all series.

In Friday night's game, he went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double, which led to a second run. He followed that performance up Saturday night and was crucial in getting Tampa Bay the comeback win. He followed up his first home run of the 2024 with another that tied the game in the ninth and eventually helped secure Tampa Bay the win. On Sunday, Caminero got another hit in the team's 3-1 loss.

Following the series split the Rays had in Oakland, Caminero was batting .233 with a .343 on-base percentage. He also had not had an extra-base hit prior to the recent series at Dodger Stadium. Now following this weekend's games, his average has jumped, as well as his other hitting statistics. He now sits with a .302 average, a .386 on-base percentage, and an .874 OPS that sat at .576 after the Rays had played the Athletics. Small sample size to the rescue.

Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero's numbers beginning to normalize

The biggest story was just Caminero hitting the ball harder. His hard-hit percentage and bat speed are up in the high-90s percentiles in all of Major League Baseball and he is averaging near 90 mph on exit velocity this season, which is an increase from his call-up campaign in 2023. During this series against the Dodgers, all of his hits came off of the bat at 107 mph+.

This type of skill with the bat is what brings Caminero to new heights and has made him the kind of prospect he is. This series against the Los Angeles Dodgers was an example of that, and this kind of play is what Tampa Bay fans can expect from him in his career.