Twins

Walker Jenkins Is Ready For It All

Photo credit: Ken Blevins/STARNEWS-USA TODAY NETWORK

Last year, Walker Jenkins hit .290/.382/.481 in High-A, reached Double-A at age 19, and MLB Pipeline named him their No. 3 global prospect. Once Roki Sasaki reaches the majors, he’ll be No. 2 behind Boston’s Roman Anthony.

Still, he felt he had a down year.

“It was all right,” he said at TwinsFest. “It was a little below average.”

Jenkins missed six weeks with a hamstring injury but still hit .273/.404/.413 in A-ball before the Twins promoted him to High-A. He reached Double-A and hit .160/.250/.200 in six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate. Perhaps that’s the genesis of his disdain. Still, he was over five years younger than his Double-A competition.

Ultimately, it’s a matter of his expectations. In 2023, the Minnesota Twins were fortunate in the draft lottery and landed the fifth pick in a five-player draft. Jenkins may have gone first overall in a different year. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote that he’s the “best prep power/hit combo since Bobby Witt Jr. and has a shot to be the face of the franchise.”

Jenkins is from North Carolina and told reporters he wanted to be “the best ballplayer ever” before the draft. “I want to go No. 1,” he said, “because I want to be the best.”

After the Twins drafted him fifth, Jenkins vowed to prove the four other teams wrong for passing on him.

“I want to be the best at anything and everything that I do,” Jenkins said after signing his $7.1 million draft bonus. “That’s obviously the main motivation along with winning, but then there’s just little things along the way. Getting cut by different teams. Different aspects that lead to a chip on your shoulder.”

At TwinsFest, a reporter asked Jenkins if he would like to reach the majors this season.

“Oh man, are you kidding me?” he immediately responded. “Yeah.”

Jenkins’s first step is adjusting to Double-A, which is a significant increase in competition from A-ball.

“Going from Rookie ball, when I was rehabbing, to Low-A, to High-A, to Double-A. You kind of begin to see a little bit of that jump,” Jenkins said at TwinsFest. “When I was playing the Dodgers [affiliate], you didn’t see a reliever below 95 mph.

“Low-A, you’d have a couple of arms that wouldn’t be as good. Then Double-A, you get a little better. Then, High-A, you get a little better. Then, Double-A, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, these guys are starting to get legit.’ [Some have] had a moment of that big-league time with other teams. A lot of older guys.”

Jenkins played at four minor league levels last year, so he had to rapidly adjust to increased competition while building new relationships with coaches and players. Still, he said that everyone made him feel welcome. He integrated into each clubhouse despite being three years younger than his High-A teammates and five years younger than most Double-A players.

“It makes it easy when you’re around a lot of guys from the clubhouse who are just extremely welcoming,” he said. “There’s not been a guy in the Twins organization that I feel like I couldn’t sit down and just talk with and hang out with. I think that’s the nicest part.

“When I got there, no one acts like you’re any different or treats you any different.”

Jenkins met many people on his journey from Fort Myers to Wichita. Likely, none are more critical of him than Jenkins is of himself. Asked what he could improve upon after what he felt was a below-average season, Jenkins replied, “All of the above.”

“I want to go be a five-tool player,” he said. “I want to go out and hit a bunch of home runs, hit for a great average, not strike out a lot, get on base all the time. I want to man center field [or] wherever I’m playing at, steal a bunch of bags.

“I’m capable of it all.”

Jenkins said his priority is keeping his body healthy so he can always go all out. He spent the offseason planning for the upcoming season, establishing a routine to stay healthy and at peak fitness. He worked out with Ryan Jeffers and swam laps to stay in shape while keeping his body loose.

Reaching the majors as a 20-year-old five-tool player may seem far-fetched. However, Jenkins might have gone first overall in another year. Jeffers said his intangibles match his talent.

“He’s 19, and he’s genetically way above where any other 19-year-old is,” Jefferson told KFAN in late January. “There’s not a ton of people that can hang and do what I do in the weight room in the offseason. He’s seven years younger than me, just right there next to me with the same weights.”

Carlos Correa follows Minnesota’s minor-league system closely and tries to connect with the top prospects. He said the 6’3”, 210 lbs. Jenkins will continue to ascend this year.

“Everybody’s high on him,” said Correa. “He’s the real deal. [Jenkins is] a real prospect, and he’s got a lot of upside. You look at his body, and he looks like a big leaguer already. I think he’s going to help us, hopefully this year. Or next year, I don’t know. But he’s going to be a superstar in this game.”

Jenkins has already impressed his major-league teammates. He has the size and intangibles to be the face of a franchise. Jenkins aspires to be the best player in MLB history. No wonder he was upset about his season. He hit below the Mendoza line in Double-A.

Twins
Locked On Twins: Ty Goes to 1st Base — France Capitulates, Signs with Twins
By Brandon Warne - Feb 11, 2025
Twins
Where Did Minnesota’s Top 30 Prospects From 2022 Finish Their 2024 Seasons?
By Theo Tollefson - Feb 11, 2025
Twins

Locked On Twins: Invitations Have Gone Out — Who Else are the Twins Bringing to Spring Training 2025?

Photo credit: Ken Blevins/STARNEWS-USA TODAY NETWORK

The Twins announced their spring training invitees list, and it’s rather light. But how light is it? In this edition of Locked On Twins, Brandon (@Brandon_Warne/@warne.bsky.social) and […]

Continue Reading