Caminero, Chourio Seize 2026 World Series Spotlight at Ages 23 and 22

Q: Can former Brewers star Freddy Peralta shatter Milwaukee's championship dreams and secure Tampa Bay's first historic title instead?

Yes — Freddy Peralta is one of the clearest paths for Tampa Bay to flip this series and deny Milwaukee its first title. The case starts with form. Since arriving from the Mets at the Aug. 2 trade deadline, Peralta has looked reborn under the Rays’ pitching group. He posted a 3.25 ERA in 10 regular-season starts for Tampa Bay, then dominated the ALCS with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings, winning Game 2, recording key relief outs in Game 4 and taking Game 6 to earn ALCS MVP. Going back to Aug. 26, he is 7-0 with a 0.89 ERA over his last 10 outings, and the Rays have won all 10. The emotional angle is real, but the baseball angle matters more. Peralta knows Milwaukee’s hitters, the ballpark and the pressure points of that clubhouse. That familiarity could help in a series expected to be tight and low-scoring, especially against a Brewers team built on contact, patience and bullpen leverage rather than overwhelming slug. Still, he alone will not decide it. Milwaukee had the majors’ best record at 103-59, home-field advantage and likely Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski at the front of the rotation. The Brewers also swept the defending champion Dodgers and have been the more complete team over the full season. So Peralta can absolutely shatter Milwaukee’s dream — and he may be Tampa Bay’s most dangerous swing factor. But for the Rays to secure their first championship, they will still need run support from Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and a bullpen capable of matching Milwaukee’s depth.

3 articles · Updated · CBS Sports · Oct 22

Junior Caminero, 23, and Jackson Chourio, 22, enter the 2026 World Series as the breakout faces of Tampa Bay and Milwaukee, giving the matchup a showcase for baseball’s next star tier.
Caminero arrives with back-to-back elite seasons: 42 homers, 101 RBI and 5.7 WAR in 2026 after a 45-homer, 110-RBI breakout in 2025, while also improving his average, on-base percentage and strikeout rate.
Chourio’s 2026 line was .291/.351/.487 with 25 homers, 23 steals and 4.9 WAR in 127 games, extending his streak of 20-20 seasons to all three of his MLB years.
Teammates and managers on both clubs framed them as future MVP-caliber players, with Caminero viewed as closer to that leap now and Chourio praised for a ceiling that still may be untapped.
The series lacks the established Hall of Fame resumes that defined some recent Fall Classics, but it offers a national stage for two players who could anchor the sport’s next generation.