St. Paul – About once a decade, a major league team drafts a prospect that is unlike any other. They’re promised to be the type of player who can alter the course of a team from basement dwellers to division champions. A prodigy story surrounds them well before they even play their first minor league game.
The Twins have had a few of these prospects over the last few decades. Torii Hunter in the 1990s, Joe Mauer in the 2000s, Byron Buxton in the 2010s, and now Walker Jenkins in the 2020s. Just two weeks ago, the Twins promoted their top prospect from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul.
What makes Jenkins the Twins’ next prodigal prospect? He has a swing reminiscent of Mauer’s and defensive skills just a half step behind those of Buxton and Hunter.
Jenkins had only played 61 games in the year before the call-up. He’d been fatigued with an ankle injury since spring training, which limited him to just two games before June 1. His rehab assignment was unremarkable. He slashed .269/.441/.385 in 34 plate appearances in Fort Myers before the Wind Surge activated him. But once he was ready to go, things turned the corner for the better this year.
“Just being able to go out, and I feel like this is the first time I’ve been able to go out and play without reservations,” Jenkins said. “Even last year, having some soft tissue injuries always in the back of your head. Man, I felt really good. It’s been super nice to be able to go play hard, the way I like to play the game, and not have thoughts about worrying about this or that.”
“The dude is unbelievable,” said teammate Kyler Fedko, who played with him at Double-A. “Nasty. I mean, he’ll be in a big-league three-hole next year. I can stake anything on that. He’s just a mature guy, like he’s not a 20-year-old. He acts like he’s 25 years old, he looks like he’s 25 years old, he swings like he’s 25 years old.”
It only took Jenkins 50 games to show he was ready for the next level. Over those 50 games with the Wind Surge, he slashed .317/.436/.503 with seven home runs, 24 RBI, 11 stolen bases, had an 18.5% strikeout rate, and a 15% walk rate.
A 50-game stretch like this isn’t always enough to promote the typical minor league player to the next level. However, for a prospect like Jenkins, it was enough for the Twins Player Development staff to take action.
“I’ve already got to face a lot of arms that have had a lot of big-league time, which has been awesome,” Jenkins said. “It’s humbling. It’s a different atmosphere up here when you’re this close. It’s kind of a different level on its own, and I’m thankful to be here.”
It comes as no surprise to the Saints’ coaching staff and even some of Minnesota’s players that Jenkins made it to Triple-A before the season is over. Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers and Jenkins reside within an hour of each other along North Carolina’s southern coast in the off-season. They spent the last off-season working out together. While Jenkins was just 19 at the time, Jeffers thought he was witnessing the physical feats of an MLB veteran in the weight room.
“I think he’s a phenomenal athlete,” said Jeffers. “He does some stuff in the weight room that it’s shocking what he can do for his age, but you know, I think the player he is on the field kind of correlates to that. He’s a really talented player.”
“I think it’s just been awesome having another guy who has come up in the same organization, that’s been around, and understands the ropes of everything,” said Jenkins. “It’s just him walking me through stuff, like, ‘Hey, man, how did this work for you?’ I can just pick his brain when it comes to moving through levels.”
While they haven’t seen each other since spring training, the bond between the two North Carolina natives has been something Jenkins hasn’t taken for granted. He’s had tremendous help from Jeffers and many others in the Twins organization to help him grow as a hitter this year.
The big development lately is the power showing up in his swing. Jenkins only had six home runs in 368 plate appearances last year. However, he has had eight of his nine on the year come after his return from the rehab stint in Fort Myers, over 279 plate appearances.
“I think some of it is, like I said, being a little healthier, being a little better,” said Jenkins. “I think some of it is just the intention with my swing. I hate striking out. Everyone with the Twins knows it, all the hitting guys know it.”
Jenkins has seen his strikeout rate climb from 12.8% in 2024 to 18.7% this season. It’s climbed partially due to seeing better pitching at the higher minor-league levels. However, as Jenkins has put more emphasis on building power, so too have the strikeouts climbed.
“I hate it, man, more than anything else in this game,” said Jenkins, “but we had some conversations like, ‘Hey. I’ve got to be okay thinking, catch the ball out front, hitting the ball a little harder, elevate to the pull side or just all fields, and be okay missing a little earlier on.’
“And that’s kind of been the approach I’ve taken. It’s not that I’m going up there and thinking I’m swinging and missing by any means. But that I’m okay getting my hack off early and then competing when I’m getting it too.”
Twins fans will get their first taste of Jenkins during the Saints’ final homestand this week. It will only be a quick six games, but it’s a taste of what’s to come for the franchise next season.
It’s only a matter of when, and not if, Jenkins will make his MLB debut for the Twins in 2026. When he does, people will expect him to change the course of the franchise as they did with Mauer, Hunter, and Buxton. It’s a heavyweight for any player to take on, but it’s something Jenkins, dubbed Captain America, is up for.
“He definitely has a good head on his shoulders,” said Jeffers. “Got really good parents, has been raised right, been super respectful, and he can really just handle himself the right way, which I also think helps him a lot at this stage, just being the gravitas of what he’s going through as a big prospect moving up so fast to being so young.”
“He’s just not a 20-year-old. He’s just not,” Fedko said. “The way he plays the game, you’d think he was in college for six years. He’s going to be, he already is special, but he’s going to be really, really special.”
While the big league dreams are just a step away, Jenkins still has two weeks of Triple-A games to play out. And as excited as he is to achieve that dream soon, he’s focused on where he’s at to win games for the Saints now.
“All I’m trying to do is whatever team I’m on, help win,” said Jenkins. “Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get to the big-league team and win up there. I think I can do that. Whatever role that is, I think I can go out, and I’m going to go hard. I’m going to give it my all. I think I can help win when I do that.”
