Where are Walker Jenkins, Twins' top 30 prospects playing this season?

The Twins' big-league team has gotten off to an extremely disappointing start, but the good news is there's going to be quite a bit of exciting young talent on display throughout their minor-league system this season.

Emmanuel Rodriguez and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints got off to an incredible start to their season on Friday night before inclement weather in Minnesota caused a couple postponements over the weekend. This upcoming Friday, the Twins' affiliates at the next three levels — Double-A Wichita, High-A Cedar Rapids, and Low-A Fort Myers — will begin their seasons.

With rosters for those teams being revealed on Monday, let's take a look at where the Twins' top 30 prospects (according to MLB.com) will be playing to open the 2025 campaign.

Note: RHP Eiberson Castellano, listed as Minnesota's No. 16 prospect, was returned to the Phillies (per Rule 5 Draft rules) after failing to make the Twins' Opening Day roster.

Triple-A St. Paul Saints (8)

• No. 2: OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
• No. 3: IF/OF Luke Keaschall
• No. 6: RHP Marco Raya
• No. 9: RHP Andrew Morris
• No. 11: RHP Cory Lewis
• No. 22: RHP Travis Adams
• No. 23: IF Payton Eeles (injured list)
• No. 24: C Diego Cartaya

Rodriguez and Keaschall, two of the Twins' three consensus top-75 prospects in the sport, headline a Saints lineup that also includes Austin Martin, Mike Ford, and a few other ex-big leaguers. Rodriguez apparently jammed his thumb in Friday's season opener, but it isn't believed to be a serious injury. Those two should be very fun to watch in St. Paul and could earn MLB promotions before long.

Meanwhile, the Saints' pitching staff is loaded. David Festa and Zebby Matthews would be the Twins' top two pitching prospects if they hadn't graduated from prospect status last year, and they sit atop St. Paul's rotation as important depth for Minnesota. Then you've got Raya, Morris, Lewis, and Adams beyond them.

Double-A Wichita Wind Surge (4*)

• No. 1: OF Walker Jenkins
• No. 5: LHP Connor Prielipp
• No. 17: C/OF Ricardo Olivar
• No. 21: OF Kala'i Rosario

Jenkins is the top prospect in the organization and the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball. He looks like a potential future superstar. After finishing last season with six games for Wichita, the 20-year-old will open this season at Double-A. Prielipp is also a very exciting prospect; he's a nasty lefty who's been lighting it up on the back fields at the Twins' spring training complex.

* RHP C.J. Culpepper, the Twins' No. 10 prospect, was expected to be on the Wichita roster but isn't there to start the year, suggesting he may be injured.

High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels (10)

• No. 4: IF Kaelen Culpepper
• No. 7: IF Brandon Winokur
• No. 8: RHP Charlee Soto
• No. 12: IF Kyle DeBarge
• No. 14: IF Billy Amick
• No. 15: IF Rayne Doncon
• No. 18: OF Gabriel Gonzalez
• No. 26: IF Danny De Andrade
• No. 29: RHP Jose Olivares
• No. 30: C Khadim Diaw

There's plenty of intriguing talent down at the A+ level in Cedar Rapids to begin the year. Culpepper, DeBarge, Amick, and Diaw were drafted last year. Soto and Winokur were taken in the 2023 draft. These guys are still a ways away, but they could start factoring into the big-league picture in 2026 or (more likely) 2027.

The Kernels are going to have a particularly loaded infield group, with all six of their infielders ranking among the Twins' top 30 prospects. You'd think they may experiment with using a few of those players in the outfield in order to get them in the lineup every day and maximize their future versatility.

Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2)

• No. 20: OF Yasser Mercedes
• No. 28: RHP Adrian Bohorquez

Rookie ball/lower levels (4)

• No. 13: LHP Dasan Hill
• No. 19: OF Eduardo Beltre
• No. 25: IF/OF Dameury Pena
• No. 27: IF Santiago Leon

Hill, a second-round pick last year out of high school, is a 19-year-old with big-time stuff. He figures to begin the year with the FCL Twins in the Florida Complex League.

The 16-year-old Leon was the headliner of the Twins' international signing class this year. He'll presumably play with many other members of that class in the Dominican Summer League, which begins in June.

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