MILWAUKEE -- World Series discussions often center around the superstars -- especially if there are those easy ones we can call "future Hall of Famers." Two years ago, when the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees faced off, there were at least five active players that fit the bill and probably a few more with a decent chance. This time around, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays don't have any surefire Hall of Famers. Christian Yelich is the closest thing, and he might be short (it's a different discussion for a different time).
I think there's a good argument to be made, however, that the best position player on each team is, in fact, a future Hall of Famer. It's far too early to make such a declaration, but they have the early foundation and the required talent. Both are emerging superstars, though one is a little more nationally established than the other (thank you, Home Run Derby).
They'll get their spotlight together in this series. We're speaking, of course, about Junior Caminero of the Rays and Jackson Chourio of the Brewers. Now, they aren't unknowns.
But I'll also excuse you if you don't regularly watch either of these teams. Regardless, we are all about to be blessed with a significant part of the next wave of incredible baseball talent. Caminero is a 23-year-old Dominican third baseman.
His first full-time season was 2025, during which he clubbed 45 homers with 110 RBI. As an encore this season, he hit 42 home runs with 101 RBI. Don't mistake the line as regression.
Though the power numbers dipped ever so slightly there, he raised his average by 12 points, his on-base percentage by 49 points and his walk rate by five percentage points, all while his strikeout rate dropped. To see this type of growth from one year to the next at age 23 while nearly maintaining his power leads me to believe there's an untapped extra gear in him as a player. We might well see him hit close to .300 next season and duplicate those 40 bombs.
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