Many people have become familiar with Walker Jenkins since the Twins drafted him fifth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. His first two full seasons in pro-ball have not come without injuries and other setbacks, but after returning from the IL in late June from an ankle injury, the Twins’ prodigal prospect was healthy the rest of the way and came knocking on the door of the majors to end the 2025 season.
But where will he start the 2026 season, and will his five-tool player status be enough for him to crack the Twins’ Opening Day roster? Or will he still need some time to develop things in Triple-A for the first few weeks of the year?
Who is Walker Jenkins?
2025 Stats (Double-A/Triple-A): 371 PA | .286 AVG | .399 OBP | .451 SLG | 10 HR | 34 RBI | 17 SB
One of the top five picks from the stacked 2023 MLB Draft Class who could have gone first overall in any other year, Jenkins made history this season, becoming the youngest player to play in the International League at just 20 years of age. He earned the promotion following a hot stretch with Double-A Wichita, where he put up a .309/.426/.487 slash line with seven home runs, 24 RBI, and 11 stolen bases from late June to mid-August.
The Twins Player Development personnel were confident with what they saw from Jenkins in that stretch and decided it was time to move him up to Triple-A for the final four weeks of the Saints’ 2025 season.
“Man, it’s awesome,” said Jenkins. “A level away. It’s pretty cool to be here with a lot of guys that have been up and down and had a lot of time in the big leagues. I’ve already got to face a lot of arms that have had a lot of big-league time, which has been awesome. 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.”
Jenkins needed an adjustment period when he arrived at Triple-A on August 26. His first week, Jenkins went 1-for-20 with four walks, and his lone hit was a double. He hit .242/.324/.396 the rest of the way over 102 plate appearances and got two home runs, eight RBI, and four stolen bases.
Arriving at Triple-A to end the year was a huge accomplishment for Jenkins despite the mixed results he had at the plate. Rarely do 20-year-olds play at this level, and if nothing else, the four-week stretch at the level has been an opportunity for him not only to improve his performance but the mental side of the game as well.
“There’s been some ups and downs result-wise. It’s very similar to Double-A, and I feel like it’s going to be more of a mental thing to lock in, staying in the zone and finding ways to be consistent,” he said.
And from how his teammates and coaches have observed him, they consider Jenkins to be the most mature 20-year-old they’ve ever met in this game.
“It’s like you watch him for two days, the way he goes about his business, and you’re like, ‘That guy’s special,” said Saints Hitting Development coach Danny Marcuzzo. “And then you want to talk about really when you figure something out about people, you find their character when things aren’t going great. And the first week couldn’t have gone worse for him with what he did coming up to Toledo, and it’s like, ‘How is this kid going to react?’ And he couldn’t have reacted more special with 16 barrels the next week. So that told more of a story than probably anything could.”
“Yeah, I mean it’s awesome to see him play and at such a young age to get to this point, he’ll obviously be in the big leagues sometime in the near future,” said Twins outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. “I mean, you can see the talent he has. The mental side of the game, he’s pretty strong in. I mean, looking at him makes me look back at myself at that age; I was still in my junior year of college.”
The Hit and Power Tools
Jenkins has always swung a good bat, but the biggest question around him since he’s been drafted is, how will the power develop in his swing as he grows? The power tools are still developing at the moment. He set a new career high with 10 home runs this season, most of which came at Double-A, but it’s not to the point where you’d expect to see 20-30 home runs a year from him in the majors consistently.
Which is an okay spot for him to be at, just 20 years old. Jenkins has all the necessary skills in his arsenal to be a true five-tool player in the majors. He has the base running, defense, and throwing arm, and his overall hitting abilities are still incredibly strong for his age. But the power tool is the one he needs to work on the most this off-season, and that will come with more strength and maturing in his body.
Alongside those 10 home runs, Jenkins did hit 17 doubles this year. If there’s any one week he had in Triple-A where everything clicked together at the plate and showed he will reach those power numbers down the road, it was when the Saints were in Louisville facing the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. Jenkins was scorching hot, going 13-for-25 (.520 average) with four extra base hits, including his first Triple-A homer.
“Walker’s just a talented player, and obviously didn’t have the start that he wanted,” said Saints hitting coach Shawn Schelchter. “But when you get talented guys like that, they typically make the adjustments fast. I don’t think anyone was expecting him to jump in here and light it up right away. But to watch him go through a little bit of a low in the first week and completely turn it around and have the week he had in Louisville was very impressive.”
If there’s one thing that Jenkins dislikes more than anything, it’s striking out. Naturally, as he develops more power, more strikeouts will come with the home runs. He’s already shown signs of that, having his strikeout total increase from 47 in 368 plate appearances in 2024 to 76 in 371 this year. But having a year to build on the power and the strikeouts that come with it, Jenkins intends to take those numbers as a point of decreasing strikeouts and adding more home runs this offseason.
Jenkins’ Fantasy Outlook
Jenkins is an ideal dynasty fantasy player for the 2026 season. He’s knocking down the door at Triple-A, and if he has a healthy and scorched-earth spring training at the plate. He could make the case to crack the Twins’ 2026 Opening Day roster. Even if he doesn’t, it’s not the biggest deal in the world to Jenkins if he ends up spending an extra week in Triple-A, as he’d rather do that than arrive in the majors a week or two too early.
“You have to set far-fetched goals and set aspirations that you think are going to be tough to achieve just to push yourself. Ultimately, I want to be on the Twins’ team and play there for a long time. My goal is once I get up there, is not to be bouncing back up and down. Whenever that time is, whenever they call me, I want to be ready to go, whether that’s the beginning of next year or sometime later on.”
In reality, if Jenkins is healthy and sent to Triple-A again to start the year, there’s no question he will be able to make his MLB debut by early May at the very latest. The Twins have an off-season, starting off with many unknowns on who will be traded from the major league roster, and the payroll still being up in the air, with their new limited ownership partners not being made public.
The Twins outfield will still be led by Byron Buxton next year, with the corner outfield spots likely filled in some platoons between Austin Martin, Alan Roden, and Matt Wallner. Jenkins will most likely find himself in consideration for a role in left field with Buxton holding down center for the foreseeable future. So, for any dynasty teams in need of a left fielder to build around, Walker Jenkins is the guy to go for.
