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. I'm not suggesting that. 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. He also improved on defense, helping him vault to 5.7 WAR from last season's 4.3.
"I think the upside is just the consistency," Rays outfielder Cedric Mullins said on Thursday. "He's put some fantastic seasons together in back-to-back years. Even when he started off a little slow, he bounced back with a crazy hot streak. It's going to be exciting to see what he can do moving forward."
"Junior is a special player, special teammate," Rays manager Kevin Cash said earlier in the playoffs. "He's been incredible and would expect that, just as he's done every single stop throughout his career, whether it's playing winter ball or coming up, he's going to be very excited, motivated, and we'll rise to the occasion."
Caminero might well finish in the top two of MVP voting, behind favorite Yordan Alvarez, and I've seen enough to say with decent certainty that he's a future MVP.
Rays catcher Liam Hicks, acquired at the trade deadline, raved about something as simple as getting to watch Caminero in batting practice every day, but focused specifically on his ability to adjust and adapt at the big-league level.
"That's the crazy thing, too: how much power he has, how many home runs he hits," Hicks said. "He doesn't strike out a lot; he makes a ton of contact. I think that part of his game is just crazy. He's got as much upside as anyone in the game."
Chourio, meanwhile, is a 22-year-old Venezuelan (and World Baseball Classic champion!) who signed an eight-year extension before he even debuted in the majors. He started playing professionally at age 17 in the Brewers system and was a top five prospect in all of baseball by 2023, when he was just 19. There's a five-tool superstar in here just waiting to have a monster breakout season. Here in 2026, he had his best year, but there's clearly more in the tank. Remember, he's only 22. Injuries held him to 127 games this year, but he still hit .291/.351/.487 (129 OPS+) with 27 doubles, 25 home runs, 75 RBI, 96 runs, 23 steals and 4.9 WAR. He's a Gold Glove finalist and he's gone 20-20 in all three of his MLB seasons so far. He can do it all.
"Chourio is, he's special, man," Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick said on Thursday during media day. "When you watch him in the box, his presence, his tone, he's capable of being anything he wants to be in the box.
"His day-in, day-out is just happy. He's a happy guy."
"The ceiling he has is so high that we don't know if he'll ever hit it," reliever DL Hall said. "You know, just because he just keeps getting better and better and it seems like there's no limit."
"Playing with him every day for me and the rest of the bullpen, every time he gets up, we're like, 'he's probably gonna hit a homer.' Every single time he comes up to the plate, you just expect something special. It speaks to the work he puts in and how focused he is, especially at such a young age."
It's impossible to miss the talent just oozing out of Chourio. There's an earned swagger that says we ain't seen nothin' yet. Another future MVP? He absolutely has the talent, even if he's further away than Caminero at this point -- and that's no insult. Chourio has also shown a flair for the dramatic.
"No moment's too big for Jack Jack," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after NLCS Game 3, when Chourio hit a first-pitch home run off former Cy Young winner Blake Snell. "He's special."
Brewers pitcher Dustin May has seen his fair share of talented teammates, including the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich. And that's only naming his teammates who have won MVPs.
"I can't say no," May said when CBS Sports asked if Chourio would join that list. "He's definitely got it in there, for sure. If he can put it together one year like I know he can, he'll win one."
"I think [MVP upside] is there for sure," said Patrick. "He's learned the game over the last three years and he definitely has the upside to win it."
Caminero and Chourio, the young studs of their respective clubs, are different players. The former is a corner infielder and prototypical middle-order slugger, even if he's more well-rounded than some might believe that term implies. The latter is an outfielder with great speed, capable of a 30-30 season as soon as next year, but he's unlikely to get up into the mid-40s in home runs the way Caminero figures to do annually. Caminero won't steal a ton of bases, while Chourio could well go for 40+ someday.
But no matter the skill set, they have something undeniably in common: they're the best position players on their team at a tender, young age. The 2026 World Series is a showcase for these two uber-talented players. It probably won't be the last.
