NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Junior Caminero is 19 years old, only two years and four months younger than Wander Franco. But Franco is the Rays’ franchise shortstop, with a $182 million guaranteed contract, and Caminero is a prospect with only 106 games of Minor League experience. Looking for any advice he can get from Franco, Caminero occasionally reaches out to him through social media.

“Usually what we talk about,” Caminero said through interpreter Manny Navarro, “is him waiting for me up in the big leagues.”

It could be a few more years before Caminero, the Rays’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has a chance to play with Franco. But he and fellow top prospect Carson Williams got a taste of the big leagues during Tampa Bay's 6-5 loss to the Braves on Monday at CoolToday Park.

Williams, the Rays’ third-ranked prospect and No. 72 in MLB, replaced Franco at shortstop in the fifth inning. Caminero pinch-hit for third baseman Taylor Walls in the sixth. It was Caminero’s second Grapefruit League game and the first for Williams, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.

The anticipation made for a long ride -- “A little too long,” Williams said, laughing -- from Minor League camp at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

“Everybody who plays baseball, [the goal is] to get to the Major Leagues,” Williams said. “When you get to be around these guys, it's an honor. So I'm just having fun with it.”

Williams struck out twice and used his strong arm on a 6-3 double play in the seventh. Caminero walked and struck out. They’ll get another chance to play Tuesday when they are expected to start the Rays’ 6:05 p.m. ET game against the Twins at Hammond Stadium.

Both prospects are expected to begin the season at High-A Bowling Green after shooting up prospect rankings last year, but manager Kevin Cash said this early exposure to a Major League environment -- including big league infielders like Franco, Walls and Brandon Lowe -- could benefit them in the long run.

“You're never going to take away the nerves of that first time getting the call to come to the big leagues,” Cash said. “But if you know the guy, or you have a little bit of a relationship with some of the teammates, it's got to help.”

That was Williams’ mindset as soon as he took the field Monday morning. The 19-year-old also heeded some advice he and Caminero received from Cash during batting practice.

“He said, ‘Have fun.’ That was it,” Williams said. “We've got nothing to lose. I mean, why not just come up here and have a good time?”

Williams hit .252/.347/.471 with 19 homers and 28 steals in 113 games for Single-A Charleston last year. The shortstop’s slick glovework also earned him the Rays’ Minor League Defensive Player of the Year Award and a Gold Glove nod as the best defensive shortstop in Minor League Baseball. 

The next step, Williams acknowledged, is improving his pitch selection to cut down on his strikeout rate after whiffing 168 times in 523 plate appearances last season.

“You live, you learn,” Williams said. “I learned so much about myself last year -- what I need to get myself ready to go and just the little things that I need for me.”

Caminero, acquired from Cleveland for pitcher Tobias Myers in November 2021, hit .314/.384/.498 with 11 homers in 62 games between the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Charleston last season. He followed that with an impressive .303/.368/.613 line over 39 games, all at third base, in the Australian Baseball League over the winter.

“I don't think I'm too far [from the Major Leagues], but I don't like to think I'm too close. I like to think I'm more so in the middle,” Caminero said. “But I think the mentality that I need to have is that I need to be up here next year, and I think that'll help me out.”

More likely, Caminero and Williams will continue to progress through Tampa Bay’s system as one, lining up together on the left side of the infield as they did for Charleston last season.

“Ever since I got here, [Williams has] been there and just treated me like an equal. We've been close. We go everywhere together,” Caminero said. “We help each other out. And I think, hopefully, we can come up together here in the future.”

How long until Caminero thinks he’ll be playing alongside Williams and Franco?

“The sooner, the better,” he said, smiling.