TORONTO -- When Junior Caminero reported to Spring Training, the hype was inescapable. He had been MLB’s top overall prospect for a time during his rookie season, then he became a hero in his hometown and a viral sensation online after his championship-winning home run -- and extended, joyous trot around the bases -- while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

No less an authority than Albert Pujols, Caminero’s winter ball manager, told Dominican reporters that the third baseman was “a future Hall of Famer.” Those aren’t typical words of praise for a player who was, at the time, 21 years old with 50 games of Major League experience.

Somehow, Caminero has lived up to the hype. He has outperformed the Rays’ expectations and even his own, emerging as a legitimate star in his

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