By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… It’s Earned!
Every so often a swing comes along that teaches the whole game something. Albert Pujols had one. Junior Caminero has one right now. One is AHD’s former model. The other is our current model. And the best part? The old one helped coach the new one.
Junior Caminero and Albert Pujols look different but share the same Mechanically Advantaged Angles: an athletic base, a short route from above the ball, bat lag and an athletic front side, with the barrel level with the pitch early. Young hitters should copy those angles and principles, not the stance or the leg kick.
Train it: Swing Structure & Mechanics Masterclass →Key takeaways
- Pujols and Caminero look different, but they share the same Mechanically Advantaged Angles.
- Both swings are fast and on plane: the barrel gets level with the pitch early and stays there.
- Pujols managed Caminero in the Dominican Winter League and the 2026 World Baseball Classic. His advice: “Get level with the pitch.”
- Copy the angles and the principles, not the stance.
1. The former model: Albert Pujols
For a decade, if you wanted to show a young hitter what a great swing looked like, you pulled up Albert Pujols. In his first 10 seasons he hit at least .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs every single year. He finished with 703 home runs, 3,384 hits, three MVP awards and two World Series rings.
And here’s the part people forget: for all that power, he never struck out 100 times in a season. That’s not luck. That’s a swing built to be on time, on plane and adjustable.
Pujols was in our 2015 Early Days posts too, as an example of a hitter with a simple, quiet trigger. The swing was never fancy. It was efficient.
2. The current model: Junior Caminero
Caminero is 23, plays third base for the Rays and was born in Santo Domingo. In 2025 he hit 45 home runs with 110 RBIs and reached the final round of the Home Run Derby. In 2026 he backed it up: an All-Star start at third base, AL Player of the Month in June, the youngest player ever to homer in six straight games, and a season line of .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs.
The numbers under the numbers are what make him a model. In May, MLB’s Statcast had him with the fastest bat speed in baseball, 79.9 mph, and the flattest swing path among qualified hitters, 22 degrees. Fastest and flattest. That combination is rare, and it’s exactly what we teach.
TWO AHD MODELS
TWO SWINGS.ONE BUILD.
- Athletic base
- Level with the pitch
- Barrel in the zone early
- Adjustable
COPY THE STRUCTURE.
3. The handoff: “Get level with the pitch”
Pujols managed Caminero in the Dominican Winter League and again at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where the Dominican Republic won bronze. When MLB.com asked Caminero about his swing, he credited Pujols:
“I just want to be on plane with the pitch… just get level with the pitch.”
That’s the former model handing the blueprint to the current one. Stay level so you don’t pop up. Keep enough lift to drive the ball out. It’s the same lesson Pujols lived for 22 seasons.
4. What makes them AHD models
Two different eras. Two different bodies. The same Mechanically Advantaged Angles:
1. Setup: Athletic posture
Balanced, strong and ready to move. Pujols famously stood wide and quiet. Different look, same job: a base the body can turn on.
2. Load: Pull back the bow
The hands get back and connected, ready to deliver, without flying away from the body.
3. Launch: Above the ball
Hands and barrel start above the ball’s path, so the barrel has a short, direct route into the zone.
4. Pre-contact: Bat lag
The barrel stays behind the hands, then whips through late. That’s where Caminero’s bat speed comes from, not from muscling it.
5. Contact: Front-side brace
An athletic front side stops the body and turns that energy into the barrel. Both hitters hit against the front leg, not over it.
And both prove our four pillars. The swing gets the barrel there. Strength and explosiveness make it fast. The hitting processor gets it there on time. And the mental approach, Pujols’s consistency and Caminero’s confidence, keeps it there all season.
5. Side by side
Albert Pujols — the former model
Compact and on plane. Elite contact for a power hitter. Used the whole field. Built to last 22 seasons.
Junior Caminero — the current model
Fastest bat in the game and the flattest path. Damage on high fastballs. Power at 21, 22 and 23 years old.
What’s the same
On plane early. Barrel behind the hands. Athletic front side. Fast, not long.
6. What young hitters should copy
Don’t copy a stance. Don’t copy a leg kick. Every hitter is different. Copy the angles and the reasons behind them.
- Players: film one swing from the side. Pause it at launch and contact. Is your barrel getting level with the pitch early, or chasing it late?
- Coaches: stop telling hitters to “swing up” or “swing down.” Teach them to match the plane of the pitch, like Pujols taught Caminero.
- Parents: a fast, short swing beats a big, long one. Bat speed is built from the ground up, not from the arms.
7. Build the complete hitter
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
Find out which angle is costing you with SwingChecker™, free. The AHD Complete Hitter Masterclass trains all four pillars together, and the first 3 lessons of every course are free. Want a plan built for your hitter? See online remote baseball and softball training with BK.
Source note: Statistics and quotes come from MLB.com, Wikipedia, StatMuse and Baseball-Reference. This article is AHD’s coaching interpretation.
THELESSON.
- Get level with the pitch.
- Stay athletic.
- Win contact first.
- Make it your own.
Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.
Quick answers
Why is Junior Caminero’s swing so good?
He combines the fastest bat speed in baseball with one of the flattest swing paths. His barrel gets on the plane of the pitch early and stays there, so he makes hard contact without a long, loopy swing.
Did Albert Pujols coach Junior Caminero?
Yes. Pujols managed Caminero in the Dominican Winter League and at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Caminero credits Pujols with telling him to stay on plane and get level with the pitch.
Should young hitters copy Albert Pujols or Junior Caminero?
Copy the principles, not the look. Both hitters share athletic posture, connected hands, a short route to the ball, bat lag and an athletic front side. Those angles work for every body type.
Should hitters swing up or swing down?
Neither. Teach hitters to match the plane of the pitch. Get the barrel level with the pitch early and keep it there, so you don’t pop up but still have enough lift to drive the ball. That’s the advice Pujols gave Caminero.
This article is part of the AHD guide Baseball Swing Mechanics. Start there for the full picture and every related article.
