Rays Breakout Slugger Was Easy Selection As Team's MVP This Season
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The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t find a ton of success this past season, winning only 77 games. However, there were plenty of bright spots, including a true breakout performance by one of their young sluggers.
Third baseman Junior Caminero was a unanimous top-five prospect in baseball entering the 2024 campaign. He made his MLB debut in a cameo in 2023 and was called up in 2024, a few weeks after the MLB trade deadline, following Isaac Paredes's trade to the Chicago Cubs.
Immensely talented, 2025 was his first full season as a Big Leaguer, and he wasted no time in making his presence felt. Given how well he performed, it comes as no surprise that he was selected as the team’s MVP by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.
“Aided by some dramatic home/road splits, Junior Caminero was one of baseball's most productive middle-of-the-order sluggers. Still only 22 years old, he has emerged as the face of the franchise, and he could be the club's best homegrown hitter since Evan Longoria,” he wrote.
Junior Caminero is rightful Rays MVP
It is hard to argue against the selection of Camerino as the Rays’ MVP. Other players had good seasons, such as designated hitter/first baseman Yandy Diaz, producing at arguably the highest clip of his career. Second baseman Brandon Lowe was also excellent and able to stay healthy.
But Caminero earned the distinction with his incredible power display at the plate. He hit 45 home runs and had 110 RBI, becoming one of the youngest players to reach those plateaus in a single campaign.
As Reuter noted, he has a chance to go down as one of the best players in franchise history. It is still incredibly early in his career, but that is the kind of potential and talent he has showcased thus far as a professional.
It will be imperative for the Tampa Bay front office to start building up the roster around him. There were only three other hitters who produced at an above-average level in 2025, along with Caminero: Diaz, Lowe and first baseman Jonathan Aranda. Three of them were Silver Slugger Award finalists.
Junior Caminero has now homered in 3 straight games!
— MLB (@MLB) August 25, 2025
He mashes his 38th homer of the year to straightaway center 😤 pic.twitter.com/3bQlKOYpU1
The splits for Caminero are eye-catching. At home, he had a .313/.358/.595 slash line, and on the road it dropped to .218/.266/.477. That is far from ideal, but his power production travels regardless of where he is playing.
He hit 22 home runs and 17 doubles with 54 RBI at home in 318 plate appearances and 23 home runs with 11 doubles with 56 RBI on the road in 335 plate appearances.
Finding consistency will be the next step of Caminero’s development and taking his game to that next level. Already an All-Star-level producer, the sky’s the limit for the uber-talented 22-year-old.
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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.