Big Week For Junior

At the start of spring training this year, there were some high expectations for the young guys with the Tampa Bay Rays. One of the guys who had high expectations placed on him was Junior Caminero. This year, he has more than lived up to the hype. Earlier this week, Junior became only the second player in the history of the franchise to hit 40 or more in a season. He hit the mark at home Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners.

He joins Carlos Pena in 2007 (who hit 46 that year) as the Only Rays players to collect 40 or more in a year. It's also just the 18th time in 27 years that a Rays player has ever clubbed more than 30 or more home runs in a single season. He's also tied for 10th on the Rays list for most RBI's in a season at 102 (and counting). That's joining some pretty good company, but more on that in a second.

For a team that's been around for 27 years, the fact that there's only two guys that have ever hit 40 or more homers in a season says a lot about the two guys that have done it. Junior has been carrying this team to this point. Which is pretty impressive, because at the time of this writing the Rays are 70-69 and in 4th place in the AL East. Oh and they are two and a half games back in the wild card race in the AL at the moment as well. The way he's been playing, he's a big reason why the Rays are even still sniffing a playoff spot this late in the season. And there's still a lot of time left for them to make noise.

As for his standing in Rays history, hitting 40 or more home runs for this club is a pretty big deal. He's got an outside shot of hitting two more milestones this season with a little over three weeks left in the season. He's got a chance to pass Carlos Pena's club record of 46 homers in a season. And he's also got a chance to become the first player in Tampa Bay history to crack the magical 50 home run mark. Both would be major power marks to hit. Oh but he's not done. He's also got a shot at passing Pena's club mark of 121 RBI in a season, which Pena set in 2007. Right now, Caminero is sitting at 102 RBI which is tied for 10th most in a season in club history.

So lets see if the Rays can not only make the playoffs, but Junior can set a couple of club records.