St. Paul – The Minnesota Twins organization was already down a key player on Sunday, after starter Joe Ryan exited the Twins game after facing two batters with right elbow soreness. Later in the day, Twins No. 1 prospect, Walker Jenkins, left the St. Paul Saints game with a left shoulder injury.
Across the river in St. Paul, Jankins made an impressive catch in center field to end the top of the sixth inning. But Jenkins landing caused him to hit the right-center field hard on his left shoulder. He was able to get off the field on his own power, but left the game with left shoulder discomfort.
“Unbelievable play to make that to end the inning, but he kind of jammed his left shoulder into the wall there,” said Saints manager Brian Dinkelman postgame. “As of right now, I don’t know all the details. I just know there’s a little discomfort in his left shoulder, and we’ll see where he is come tomorrow.”
Kyler Fedko was playing in right field when Jenkins made the catch.
“Pretty sick play,” said Kyler Fedko. “It happened so quickly, I didn’t really see it, but the fence is really hard out there.”
Jenkins, 21, was 1-for-3 at the plate before his early exit, getting a single, a walk, and a run scored. His teammates said he was in a good mood after the game. However, he was wearing a sling on his left arm out of precaution before his MRI. He will have an MRI in the next 24 hours before the Saints leave for a six-game series in Las Vegas.
The timing of the shoulder injury couldn’t be any worse. Minnesota’s other top prospects, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kaelen Culpepper, also sat out Sunday’s game with injuries.
Rodriguez has been day-to-day since he exited Friday night’s Saints game early after sliding headfirst into first base and aggravating his left thumb. The MRI the Twins took showed a muscle strain in his thumb, but no fractures or tears, which allowed him to take batting practice before Sunday’s game.
Culpepper left Saturday’s game early after being hit in the chest with a pitch and was also unavailable in Sunday’s game. He will resume a full workout on Tuesday when the Saints are in Las Vegas for a six-game series against the Aviators. If all goes well, Rodríguez could rejoin the Saints lineup as early as Tuesday, and Culpepper on Wednesday.
The Saints won their game 8-7 on Sunday, but the possibility of being without Jenkins for the foreseeable future left a somber mood in the clubhouse following the win. They’ll have Culpepper and Rodriguez back for their upcoming series. However, Triple-A’s best home run-hitting lineup (53 on the year) will have a hole without Jenkins in it.
“I think they’re both trending in the right direction,” said Dinkelman. “I know that KC got hit in the shoulder yesterday. I think that’s more of a day-to-day thing with him. And then with Emma, sliding into first base, the other night. I think he feels better than initially what he was hoping for, so hopefully he’s just a couple of days away.”
As things stand, the Saints’ clubhouse was much more optimistic about Jenkins’ condition after their 8-7 victory than it was when he exited the game in the middle of the sixth. While the Twins won’t know the official status of Jenkins’ left shoulder until his MRI is completed, team sources seemed more optimistic than not that he didn’t have a dislocated shoulder.
Jenkins played in 24 games on the year, entering Sunday afternoon’s game. He had a .250/.389/.386 slash line with two home runs, nine RBI, and five stolen bases. He had been hitting his stride over his last 10 games, with a .316/.435/.605 slash line, 17.4% strikeout and walk rate, along with his first two home runs on the season.
