Twins prospect Walker Jenkins welcomes high expectations after ‘below-average’ season

Walker Jenkins reached Class AA at 19 years old, totaled more walks than strikeouts while accumulating only 11 plate appearances against pitchers who were younger than him, and he’s now rated as a consensus top-10 prospect in the minor leagues.

His self-evaluated grade for his first full season in professional baseball?

“Last season, that was a below-average year for me,” said Jenkins, who hit .282 in 82 games with six homers, 22 doubles and 58 RBI across four minor league levels while compiling a .394 on-base percentage. “Like, I’m not happy with my performance last year. I want to do better.”

A harsh evaluation, but that is Jenkins’ personality. He’s driven to be the best. After the Twins took him with the No. 5 pick in the 2023 amateur draft, he said he wanted to prove the four teams that picked in front of them made a mistake.

Jenkins was disappointed he missed six weeks because of a hamstring strain, injured in his first game of the season at Class A Fort Myers when he made a running catch at the center-field wall. He didn’t like that he was used as a designated hitter for two or three games a week afterward. He stole 17 bases in 20 attempts, but he wishes he could’ve shown off his speed more often.

When he looked at his stats at the end of the season, he said his reaction was, “Oh, I can do a lot better than that.”

“I want to go be a five-tool player,” Jenkins 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 down center field, or wherever I’m playing at, and steal a bunch of bags. I think I’m capable of it all. I think the biggest thing for me is managing my body, making sure I can stay out there and go at my hardest because that’s how I like to play.”

Even if Jenkins didn’t have the perfect season he wanted — he had a 28-game on-base streak during June and July — scouts raved about him. A 6-3, 210-pound lefthanded hitter, he has a swing eerily reminiscent of Joe Mauer’s. His plate discipline is rare for a hitter with as much power as he has. He’s ranked as the sport’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 5 by Baseball America.

“You look at his body, and he looks like a big-leaguer already,” Twins shortstop Carlos Correa said.

Baseball America listed Jenkins, who will turn 20 on Feb. 19, on its short list for players projected to be the sport’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2026. That possibility assumes Jenkins won’t reach the major leagues this year. Jenkins could start the season at Wichita, in Class AA, and a best-case scenario could see him as a potential outfield option in the second half of the year.

“I’m always going to set extremely high expectations that almost feel out of reach because I think that’s the only way I can get to where I want to be,” said Jenkins, who was drafted out of South Brunswick High School in North Carolina.

Jenkins worked out with Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers during the offseason, and he swam twice a week because he wanted to protect his hamstring while keeping his legs in shape.

He called last year “a great learning process.” He prides himself on making game-to-game adjustments. During his one week in AA, he faced the Los Angeles Dodgers’ affiliate, where it felt like every reliever had a fastball above 95 miles per hour.

Facing Dodgers prospects pitching for the Tulsa Drillers, Jenkins went hitless in his first 12 at-bats. Then in his final three games of the season, as the youngest player on the field, he totaled four hits, two walks and three runs.

“First of all, it’s a kid’s game that I get to play every day of my life,” Jenkins said. “You won’t ever hear me complain. But then just how I manage it: I feel like going into this year, I have so much of a better understanding of how to navigate spring training, how to navigate a routine, how to navigate my body, how to navigate competing.”

1. Roki Sasaki, RHP, 23, Dodgers

2. Roman Anthony, OF, 20, Red Sox

3. Walker Jenkins, OF, 19, Twins

4. Dylan Crews, OF, 22, Nationals

5. Jackson Jobe, RHP, 22, Tigers

Other Twins:

37. Emmanuel Rodriguez, 21, CF

61. Luke Keaschall, 22, 2B