When the Atlanta Braves were picking at No. 24 in the 2024 MLB Draft, they were not expecting to see Cam Caminiti still available. Most mock drafts had him going in the top half of the first round as he possessed four potentially plus pitches from the left side coming out of high school. Prep arms are always a gamble as you don’t know how they will mature, develop, and stay healthy, but the Braves were happy to take such a gamble picking that low in the first and snatched him up.
Caminiti only made one appearance as a pro during his draft year and that led to a lot of anticipation heading into 2025. He did not disappoint as he laid waste to the low minor leagues with a 3.09 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 70 innings of work after dealing with a bout of forearm tendinitis early in the season.
As it turns out, Caminiti’s success wasn’t solely based on his raw talent and existing arsenal, although they definitely played a big role. According to Baseball America’s recent write-up on Caminiti, he added a kick changeup to his arsenal in 2025 and that could change his entire profile heading into 2026.
Cam Caminiti’s new kick changeup could have top Braves prospect shooting up the rankings
Everyone generally knows what a changeup is, but there are actually a lot of variations of the pitch including circle changeups, split changeups, vulcan changeup, and yes…kick changeups ups. All aspire to be offspeed offerings that limit spin, but it is the grips that “change” and influence how the ball moves. In the case of a kick change (which involves some amount of a spiking of the middle finger and releasing the ball off the ring finger), it is thrown to get more depth of movement than a traditional changeup.
This is important because while Caminiti does have a diverse offering of pitches, his slider is currently outpacing his curve by a significant margin. His slider is a plus pitch, but that does make it harder to attack all of the strike zone with his offerings as a low slot left-hander. By having a kick change, he can change speeds on the glove side of the plate while not sacrificing movement on his pitches.
The pitch performed very well for him, but BA did note that it is still raw as he struggles to throw it for strikes when he needs to. This isn’t uncommon for a new pitch for a guy who is just 19 years old, but it is worth keeping an eye on. If the kick change doesn’t continue to develop, how Caminiti is able to deceive opposing hitters into swinging at the pitches he wants them to will dictate how well he does. However, if the kick changeup turns into an above average or plus pitch for him, it is hard to see opposing hitters having much of a chance against him until he starts facing truly advanced hitters. Based on Caminiti’s current trajectory, that may happen sooner rather than later.