Here's the Twins' Spring Breakout roster
Do-Hyoung Park
@dohyoungparkFORT MYERS, Fla. -- For all the hype that Walker Jenkins has generated with the stories, the exemplary numbers and the snippets of video that pop up on social media courtesy of the Twins’ player development team, he’s largely been out of the spotlight as he has geared up for his first full professional season -- and what’s shaping up to be a big future.
Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a little longer, as Jenkins was scratched from the Twins' inaugural Spring Breakout game as a precaution after straining his left quad.
It’ll almost certainly be a while before Jenkins, the No. 1 prospect in the organization and the No. 10 prospect in baseball, gets a chance to make his impact on the Major League team, but he’ll be at the head of the next big wave to arrive. In a preview of that wave, fellow top-100 outfielders Emmanuel Rodriguez and Gabriel Gonzalez could be members of the outfield of the future as part of the Twins’ prospect showcase against the Rays on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. CT.
"I think it’s a really cool opportunity for them, especially for some of them who didn’t play in big league camp and haven’t been brought over," GM Derek Falvey said. "To kind of just get in front of a slightly bigger crowd, to get that feeling that they are being showcased for the future. Hopefully it’s a reflection of their status in the industry but also, my hope is that they come out of it with a desire to work harder. Right?
"This isn’t the end point, the Breakout game isn’t the end of the road. So I think that hopefully they see, OK, playing against some of the best players across the game, other teams, it motivates you to take that next step."
The excitement goes beyond the outfield, too. All but one of the Twins’ top 10 prospects are slated to participate, including each of their top seven. Among that group are two who should impact the Twins this year -- Brooks Lee (No. 2) and top pitching prospect David Festa (No. 5), and the intriguing Marco Raya (No. 6), still a very young pitcher for his level, who has had his innings carefully managed as he has risen to the high Minors.
“It'll be nice to play alongside guys that are younger,” Lee said earlier this spring. “It'll be a cool experience. It's funny because I kind of flew through the Minor Leagues, so I didn't really get to play with the guys for very long. Especially last year's drafted guys like Walker, I haven't really gotten the chance to play with him.”
Jenkins still hasn’t made it across the complex to a Major League Spring Training game yet, as he’s taking his live at-bats on the back fields, but there is some expectation that he’ll eventually make it over to Hammond Stadium to show a glimpse of his future in a Twins uniform in the late innings of certain games.
“It's probably the closest thing to big league camp there is,” Lee said. “It's always going to be a learning experience for guys like me and guys that are younger. You're just trying to learn, trying to get better, and then learn yourself along the way.”
What is Spring Breakout? MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition will be held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums during Spring Training. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization’s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport’s budding talent.
Here's the Twins' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: