Caminero 1st among AL 3B's in All-Star balloting? Even he's surprised ... 'in a good way!'

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Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters.

LOS ANGELES -- When Major League Baseball released the first balloting update for the 2026 All-Star Game on Monday, Junior Caminero admitted even he was a little surprised to see his name at the top of the list of American League third basemen.

“Yeah, in a good way,” Caminero said, grinning, as he sat in front of his locker inside the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon. “Thank God.”

Caminero had received 625,520 votes as of Monday’s update, ahead of the Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto (556,172) and White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas (329,208). There’s still plenty of time remaining, as Phase 1 of the voting will continue until noon ET on June 25, but it bodes well for his chances of starting a second straight All-Star Game in his second full Major League season.

Last year, Caminero was left off the initial AL roster, but he wound up making the team, then found himself in the lineup after José Ramírez opted out of the game. The idea of being chosen by fans clearly meant something to the 22-year-old.

“Thank God for the fans,” he said. “When I see the fans and the support they give me, it's amazing.”

Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda, the other two members of the Rays lineup’s “Big Three,” were also among the top 10 vote-getters at their positions (or top 20 outfielders). Díaz was third at designated hitter behind Yordan Alvarez and George Springer, with 267,585 votes. Aranda was eighth among AL first basemen, with 115,412.

Caminero’s outsized support speaks to what he’s done on the field for the Rays, of course. He hit 45 homers, drove in 110 runs and posted an .846 OPS in 154 games last season, and he enters Tuesday's game batting .275/.372/.492 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs in 69 games.

“He'd be my leading vote-getter, too,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He certainly has performed like an All-Star, and I know he embraces it. … It's a big deal, and it should be a big deal to be honored by your fans or your peers, your teammates. However it comes, it is a very big deal.”

There seems to be some angst every time Caminero goes a few games without hitting a home run, perhaps in part because of the expectations he created last season, but in some ways he has taken a step forward this year as an all-around hitter. He’s nearly doubled his walk rate. He’s striking out less.

That’s a response to the way the league has adjusted to him. Entering play Monday, only 41.4% of the pitches he’d seen were in the strike zone, down from 49% last year -- one of the steepest drop-offs in the Majors from season to season. He views that as a sign of maturity at the plate.

“I've stayed more patient at home plate. Last year, I'd swing at everything,” he said. “Now, my second season, I stay more relaxed at home plate, stay more patient. I feel like the game talks to you.”

But there’s got to be more to Caminero’s popularity than just his numbers, right?

The Rays have had plenty of great players over the years, but they’ve only had eight elected starters -- and only five of them actually played in the Midsummer Classic: Díaz and Randy Arozarena in 2023, Corey Dickerson in 2017 and Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria in 2010.

Now, Caminero has a chance to join Longoria (2009-10) as Tampa Bay’s only fan-elected third basemen and the first Ray to ever start back-to-back All-Star Games.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen pointed to what Caminero has done during his time in the spotlight, including last year’s All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. (Caminero said it’s “too early” to say if he’ll take part in the Derby again this year, for what it’s worth.) And he made an impression on fans far beyond the Tampa Bay area with his highlight-reel home run trot in the Dominican Republic and powerful performance in the World Baseball Classic.

“What he did last year and what he’s continued to do this year, the performance he put up in the WBC, there’s a lot that goes into it, right? You get to see the talent on the biggest stage,” Rasmussen said. “And on top of that, the performance is just so consistent day in and day out. Happy for him. It’s great. I think he deserves all the recognition he gets.”

Caminero definitely appreciates it.

“It makes me really happy,” he said, pausing and smiling. “Let's see what we've got the next two weeks.”