Twins to Call Up Top Prospect Walker Jenkins

Jenkins is ranked as the Twins’ No. 1 prospect and the 15th-best prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

The Twins selected the 21-year-old with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Despite recurring injuries throughout his minor league career, Jenkins has raked this season with the St. Paul Saints.

Across 69 games this season in Triple-A, Jenkins is slashing .308/.407/.532 with 12 home runs, 28 RBI, 17 doubles, three triples and an OPS of .932.

The Twins’ decision to call up Jenkins may also signal they could place All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton back on the injured list after he left Tuesday night’s game against the Athletics with hip discomfort. Buxton has been out of the starting lineup since then, and has already missed time this season due to hip and shoulder injuries.

Jenkins is now slated to make his big league debut this weekend at a time when the Twins are in a race for a playoff spot in the weak American League. Despite entering Thursday at 64-70 and in third place in the AL Central, the Twins are only four games out of the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.

The Twins begin a three-game series against the aforementioned White Sox on Friday at Target Field.