Jeremy Zoll Gives Update on Twins' Top Prospect After Rookie Season

The Minnesota Twins finally got to see center fielder Walker Jenkins in the majors this season, and three days after the season ended, he was having surgery.

The good news is that the procedure was a cleanup, and the Twins expect him to be ready for spring training.

This is big news for a team that finished 77-85, third in the American League Central and eight games out of first place.

General manager Jeremy Zoll spoke at the team's end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29, the day before the procedure, and he explained that the elbow had been a problem for a long time.

"He's been dealing with a cranky right elbow on and off for three or four years, at this point," Zoll said, according to the Pioneer Press. "He's gonna get a procedure tomorrow to clean up bone chips and bone spur, and he'll be full go for 2027. Gonna take advantage of the offseason to get that all squared away for Walker."

Jenkins had the right elbow surgery on Wednesday, and it included the removal of the bone chip and spur.

The surgery was successful, and the Twins said he is expected to have full range of motion in a few weeks, the Pioneer Press reported.

The 21-year-old's first taste of the big leagues had some big swings.

The Twins selected his contract on Aug. 28, and he made his debut that night, but he hit just .089 with one home run over his first 16 games.

He turned it around late, as he hit .385 with three home runs over his last 10 games and finished at .226 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 26 games.

The work he put in before the call-up was even better.

On Thursday, the Twins named Jenkins their Minor League Player of the Year after he hit .308 with 12 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a .939 OPS in 69 games for Triple-A St. Paul, according to the club.

He did that around a stint on the injured list from May 5 to June 22.

This is the right time to get the elbow fixed, since Jenkins was playing through it for years, and the slow start after his call-up showed how tough the jump to the majors can be.

With a full winter to recover, he can go into camp focused on the adjustments he started to make in September, which is when he broke through at the plate.

There was even talk in the middle of the month about whether the Twins should send him back down, and his strong finish answered that question.

Jenkins was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, and MLB Pipeline now ranks him as the No. 13 prospect in baseball, so he is the type of player a team builds around.

The Twins need him to be that player in 2027 after missing the playoffs, and if Jenkins comes back healthy and hits the way he did over his final 10 games, he could give this team a young everyday center fielder for a long time.