Walker Jenkins won’t make Twins’ Opening Day roster, but his confidence is rising

Walker Jenkins, who is the top Twins prospect and reached Class AAA at 20 years old last season, was recently invited to his first major league spring training camp and knows he could be contributing in the big leagues this season.

But his goals start small.

“This year, my goal is to make it through the first week of spring,” he said.

Ah, yes, that first week has been an issue for Jenkins. The center fielder sprained his ankle practicing catches at the wall during the first week of spring training last year, and it led to a two-month stint on the injured list. In 2024, it was a quad strain that hampered him throughout spring training.

Jenkins, who will turn 21 on Feb. 19, chalks them up as freak injuries. He trains with Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers during the offseason, which he says includes at least 30 minutes of stretching a day and physical therapy twice a week. Jenkins spends three days a week in the weight room and two days in the swimming pool — he was an excellent high school swimmer — to keep his body loose.

“When you go hard, and you give it 110%, you are going to get hurt at certain points,” Jenkins said. “I have a hard time turning it down. I like to go hard. I feel like it’s part of my game.”

Jenkins, listed at 6-feet-3, 210 pounds, could probably fit in if he showed up to Vikings training camp alongside the linebackers. When healthy, he has performed well. In 52 games at Class AA Wichita last year, the lefthanded batter hit .309 with seven homers, 11 doubles, 24 RBI and 38 runs while posting a .426 on-base percentage as one of the youngest players in the league.

“Understanding you belong there, too, that’s the biggest thing for me,” Jenkins said.

The Twins want Jenkins to be around the big-league coaching staff during spring training, but General Manager Jeremy Zoll said there is virtually no chance of Jenkins making the Opening Day roster.

“If we’re just being realistic, Walker just got to AAA and it’s probably best for him to continue to get development,” Zoll said. “He basically shot through the system as quickly as we could’ve possibly hoped.”

The Twins already have several lefty-hitting outfielders on their 40-man roster with Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Alan Roden, James Outman, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Hendry Mendez, and it’s already an area of the roster that seems likely for a trade to help with the logjam.

Jenkins isn’t on the 40-man roster yet, but there is star potential. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft is rated as Baseball America’s No. 5 prospect. MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 14. He’s a potential five-tool player who still needs to answer questions about his health and how much power he will show in games.

“For me, I’m a relatively big guy, and for some of my numbers, they’re just like: ‘Dude, you just have to swing it. You just have to go up there and swing harder,’” Jenkins said. “Sometimes you get into certain counts and you slap the ball a certain way. It’s like, ‘Go impact it.’ Some of it is actually swinging a lighter bat to train your body to swing something faster.”

The balance, of course, is not sacrificing Jenkins’ pure hitting ability as he attempts to hit for more power. In his minor league career, he has totaled almost as many walks (115) as strikeouts (137).

“You have to be a hitter first,” Jenkins said. “I have the engine. I just have to trust it. I can’t be scared to swing and miss sometimes early in the count.”

As the Twins take course in this rebuild, reset or whichever term is used for transitioning to a younger roster, Jenkins is expected to hold a big role in it.