In an era of disappointment, the Twins got this right.
This has been a very disappointing era of Minnesota Twins baseball. Last making the playoffs in 2023, the Twins took one game from the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series, which was their first playoff game win since 2004. Minnesota has not been past the Division Series since 2002.
Finishing 82-80 in 2024, Minnesota has posted losing records in each of the last two seasons. Injuries have contributed to this, primarily with star outfielder Byron Buxton, who again saw his season cut short by surgery this year, but there have been other organizational mistakes that have been arguably more damaging.
The front office has not done well to bring in outside help, nor have many of the internal promotions worked out. There was a lot of promise with 2017 first overall pick Royce Lewis, who burst onto the scene in his first 58 games in 2023, posting a .921 OPS and looking like the hitter everyone thought he could be. But injuries have really zapped his production, and he has posted a combined 86 OPS+ the last two seasons, and has been moved around the infield as he has tried to establish himself as a consistent piece for a struggling Twins team.
But Lewis is just one example. The Twins have largely struggled to develop internally, and one could argue their passivity with top prospects is part of the reason why. As a small-market team, the Twins understand the importance of team control, but have often taken that too far.
There were some concerns this season that the Twins would do that again with 21-year-old outfield prospect Walker Jenkins, but he has come up in the last part of this season and gotten a real opportunity. It didn’t start great for Jenkins, as he hit just .089 in his first 16 games, but the last three have been very promising.
Collecting three hits and a home run against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, Jenkins did the exact same thing on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a home run. Picking up another hit on Saturday, the young outfielder is starting to put together some really good at-bats.
None of this would’ve happened if the Twins never called him up or allowed him to play through the early struggles. In a season that has been otherwise frustrating, this has been one thing the Twins have done right.
It remains to be seen what the 2027 MLB season looks like, but if it gets played, it feels reasonable to assume that both Jenkins and the Twins will be better for this stretch of run he got in late September rather than sticking around in the minor leagues for another month.
