Junior Caminero Produced Some Eye-Popping Numbers for Rays at the Plate
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There wasn’t much for the Tampa Bay Rays to get excited about during the 2025 season. For the first time since 2018 in a 162-game campaign, they failed to reach the 80-win plateau.
However, there was one player who stood out with a stellar performance throughout the campaign: third baseman Junior Caminero. One of the highest-rated prospects in the sport in previous years, his incredible potential was on full display during his first full season as a Big Leaguer.
He turned only 22 years old on July 5 and turned in one of the most prolific power displays for a player that young in MLB history. He launched 45 home runs and recorded 110 RBI, reaching plateaus rarely achieved by a player as youthful as him.
There were some concerns about his splits on the road and at Steinbrenner Field, but his power travels wherever he goes. It will be interesting to see if he can keep that power production up, especially with the Rays' lineup actually looking weaker right now, with Brandon Lowe now with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Junior Caminero's swing speed sets him apart from peers
However, betting against Caminero would not be the smart thing to do. That is because of one of the amazing numbers that he produced in 2025.
The power numbers are impressive, and they are generated because of his elite swing speed. He had an average of 78.5 mph when swinging the bat, which was the second highest in baseball. Only Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates swung faster at 78.8 mph.
Where Caminero set himself apart was with fast swings. Any swing registered at 75 mph or faster by Statcast is considered a “fast swing,” and there wasn’t anyone who did that more often than the Tampa Bay star slugger.
He wasn’t ever cheating himself at the plate. An absurd 81.1% of his competitive swings were fast swings, making him the only player in the sport to reach the 80% threshold. As shared by Sarah Langs of MLB.com, swing speed is what makes his future so bright because the harder a player swings, the better their numbers are projected to be.
40-HOMER SEASON for Junior Caminero! pic.twitter.com/N6U3ABmKTi
— MLB (@MLB) September 3, 2025
“In 2025, fast swings generated a slugging percentage of .631 along with a 54.7% hard-hit rate, compared to .380 and 37.2%, respectively, on non-fast swings. And for batting average? .313 when swinging fast, compared to .250 otherwise,” Langs wrote.
Based on those numbers and the natural development that a player as young as Caminero normally undergoes, there is another level for him to reach with his production.
He hits the ball on the ground well above the league average of 41.9%. But his batted ball profile was heading in the right direction in 2025, with his line drive rate and fly ball rate going up and his ground ball rate going down compared to his career levels.
Continuing that trend, along with his pitch selection improving, will increase his production. The only thing that may keep Caminero from hitting 45+ home runs again is that pitchers are going to just work around him with so little protection in the lineup.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.