Junior Caminero Just Did Something No MLB Player His Age Has Done in Over 125 Years

The Tampa Bay Rays are rolling, and Junior Caminero is the reason the rest of the league is paying attention.

Caminero crushed another home run Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, a solo shot off Royals starter Seth Lugo that gave the Rays a 4-0 win and pushed their winning streak to seven games. But the bigger story isn’t just another victory for a first-place team. It’s what Caminero is doing that hasn’t been done in more than a century.

The 22-year-old slugger has now homered in six straight games, tying a Rays franchise record. And over his last eight games, he’s hit nine home runs. Sarah Langs of MLB.com pointed out on X that’s the most home runs by a player aged 22 or younger in an eight-game span since at least 1900. That means no one — not Ken Griffey Jr., not Mickey Mantle, not Bryce Harper — has put together a power stretch like this at that age in over 125 years.

Caminero is also the youngest player in modern MLB history to homer in six consecutive games. He passed Griffey for that mark, which is the kind of company that makes you stop and check the date on your phone.

How the Rays are Riding This Wave

It’s not just the home runs that stand out. It’s the timing. Caminero is doing this while the Rays sit atop the AL East at 50-33, and the pitching staff is locking down games. Wednesday night, Tampa Bay’s arms held Kansas City scoreless, letting Caminero’s homer be the difference-maker in a tight, low-scoring affair.

The win was the Rays’ seventh in a row, and Caminero has become the kind of hitter who changes how opponents approach the entire lineup. Pitchers can’t just work around him. He’s hitting everything. Fastballs, breaking balls, it doesn’t matter. The kid from the Dominican Republic who came up as a top prospect is now playing like the franchise cornerstone everyone hoped he’d be.

What This Means Going Forward

There’s no guarantee he keeps this up. Hot streaks end. But nine homers in eight games isn’t a hot streak. It’s a historic power surge that’s putting the league on notice. If Caminero stays anywhere close to this pace, the Rays are going to be a nightmare for whoever draws them in October.

And really, that’s the scary part. Tampa Bay already had one of the deepest pitching staffs in baseball. Now they have a legit middle-of-the-order thumper who’s making history at 22. Good luck.