Caminero hits 20th homer in win over Diamondbacks

After suffering an injury scare when he was hit by a pitch on the left hand during the All-Star Game earlier this week, Caminero was back in the Rays lineup in his return from the break, and wasted little time showing everyone there was nothing to be worried about. The righty deposited a pitch from Eduardo Rivera 407 feet onto the Green Monster to tie the game at 3-3, giving him his 29th homer of the season. Caminero tallied a hit in both games of Friday’s double header and appears to be good to go after Tuesday’s scare.

The Rays as a whole were baffled by Jake Bennett, who held them to just Caminero’s single in six innings. But Caminero looked pretty good despite getting hit in the hand at the All-Star game and appears to be no worse for the wear.

There was some concern that Caminero might need to take a couple of games off after getting hit in the left hand by a pitch during the All-Star Game on Tuesday. However, the 23-year-old had his X-rays come back clean, and he’s right back in the lineup with the second half underway.

It’s a massive relief for Tampa Bay, and fantasy managers, as Caminero appears to have avoided serious injury based on initial imaging. The 23-year-old rising superstar was struck on the left hand by a 97-mph heater from Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning and immediately left the exhibition contest. He’ll undergo further evaluation and treatment in the coming days, but it seems like there’s a decent chance that he’s ready to roll when the Rays kick off the second half with a doubleheader against the Red Sox on Friday at Fenway Park.

Not great. It’s the last thing anyone, especially fantasy managers, want to see in the Midsummer Classic. Caminero appeared to be in a significant amount of pain after being struck by a 97-mph heater from Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien directly on the left hand. The power-hitting 23-year-old rising superstar will head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. An update on his status should come after the contest.

After taking a brief four-day hiatus from hitting homers, Caminero has now homered in back-to-back games. The slugger belted his 28th homer of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the Rays up 6-2, as he continues to tear the cover off the ball. He’ll look to homer in his third-straight game when the two teams face off on Saturday.

He only has three homers in his last seven games, which we guess qualifies as “slowing down” in this rare instance. Caminero is slugging .842 in his last 15 games with eleven homers and again showed off his prodigious power by taking Paul Blackburn out to right center. 438 feet later, he had his 27th homer of the season. Caminero will look to continue his power spree against the Mariners this weekend.

Caminero is absolutely unreal right now. He started his day with a first-inning solo homer off Hunter Brown for his 11th homer in his last 11 games. He then drew a walk and scored in the third before reaching on a fielder’s choice and swiping his first stolen base in the fourth. The 23-year-old slugger added a base hit in the eighth, ending his day slashing .291/.379/.566 with 26 homers, 57 runs scored, and 57 RBI across 377 plate appearances.

He will not stop. After his six-game home run streak was snapped on Thursday, he may have started another one here with his 25th home run on the season. This now makes it 10 homers in 10 games for the 22-year-old phenom just one day shy of his 23rd birthday. The ‘must watch’ label isn’t thrown around too often in baseball, but Caminero with his prodigious power, infectious energy, and demonstrative celebrations is absolutely a must watch player right now.

Caminero accepted a spot in the Home Run Derby before Tuesday’s game, and he showed why when he shellacked a three-run shot off Noah Cameron. That’s the 23rd homer of the season for the slugger, and he’s just off a 100-RBI pace with 52 of them through 82 games. It’s not a surprise given his prospect pedigree, but Caminero has quickly established himself as one of the true elite power producers in a very short time.