MINNEAPOLIS – The Walker Jenkins era is about to begin.
The Twins are promoting their No. 1 prospect (No. 15 overall on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list) from Triple-A St. Paul, with the expectation that he will make his Major League debut in Friday night’s home series opener against the White Sox.
The move comes in the context of health questions around star outfielder Byron Buxton, who aggravated a lingering hip injury on Tuesday night against the A’s.
Jenkins, a left-handed-hitting center fielder, has been absolutely unstoppable at the plate at Triple-A this month, making him a clear choice to cover for Buxton if he needs to miss any time.
Buxton has been dealing with a right hip issue since May and has been on the injured list twice as a result of it. On Monday against the Athletics, he had his best game in weeks and appeared to be moving well, but he came out of Tuesday night’s game after moving awkwardly to try to field a ball in the left-center-field gap.
For Jenkins, the promotion is the culmination of a stunning surge in recent weeks. He’s long shown an impressive all-around game, with speed, defense, and the ability to get on base, and since the beginning of August his power has emerged.
Jenkins, 21, hit his eighth home run of the month for St. Paul on Wednesday, extending a run that has seen him simply obliterate International League pitching. Calls had been growing for his promotion even before Buxton’s injury.
A North Carolina native, Jenkins was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 Draft. He has performed at every level of the Minor Leagues, though this is the third consecutive season that he has been hampered by injuries.
Jenkins follows fellow top prospect Kaelen Culpepper, a shortstop who was called up earlier in August.