Caminero cranks first LIDOM homer to continue strong winter start
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Junior Caminero has been tearing up the ball all winter in the Dominican Republic. On Tuesday, he finally put an exclamation mark on what has so far been a dominant stint in his home nation.
The top-ranked Rays prospect -- No. 6 in MLB -- hit his first home run of the LIDOM season in Leones del Escogido's 4-1 win over Toros Del Este.
Facing five-year MLB veteran Raul Valdes (who last appeared in the Majors in 2014), Caminero showed off his tremendous power by pulling a backdoor slider on the outside corner over the left-field fence. The swing drove in two runs, giving his club a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Although this was his first long ball of the campaign, the infielder has been a model of consistency in LIDOM action. He has hit safely in 10 of his 11 contests and registered multiple hits in five of them. That's led to a .340/.367/.489 slash line and an .856 OPS that ranks sixth among LIDOM players with at least 40 plate appearances.
Caminero is no stranger to the winter ball circuit, either. Last offseason, he homered 14 times in 39 games for the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League, which set him up well for a breakout 2023 season that saw him vault from outside of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list to making his MLB debut at just 20 years old.
This season between High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery, Caminero slashed .324/.384/.591 before he went 8-for-34 in a brief stint with Tampa Bay. With further seasoning in the Dominican Republic this winter, he's positioning himself to compete for a full-time job in the Majors in 2024.
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