Tampa Bay Rays infielder Junior Caminero was named the 2023 Breakout Player Of The Year by Minor League Baseball Monday during their awards ceremony.
The 20-year-old third baseman, who began the season in High-A Bowling Green, ended the year with the big club, but during his trek through both Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery, ended up hitting .324/.384/.591 with 31 home runs and 94 RBI. The Rays named him their minor league player of the year, and he was also named the best defensive third baseman in High-A and a first team Minor League All-Star by Baseball America.
Caminero beat out Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski for the award.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
