The Minnesota Twins are making a move that fans have wanted for months.
The Minnesota Twins have dropped in the American League wild card standings as September approaches. They will enter Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox four games back of the final spot, sitting six games under .500 at 64-70. There are also plenty of teams in the mix for that last spot making it that much harder for them to earn it.
However, that does not mean they are calling it a season just yet. The organization made a highly anticipated move Thursday to provide the team with a big boost, similar to what Kaelen Culpepper has done since his debut earlier this month.
"WALK'S WITH US‼️ WELCOME TO THE SHOW, WALKER JENKINS!" the Twins wrote on X.
According to MLB Pipeline, Jenkins is the 15th best prospect in all of baseball and by far the best in the Twins system, and it is easy to see why. He is an all-around impactful talent whose journey with Minnesota began back in the 2023 MLB Draft when he was selected fifth overall out of high school.
Since then he has not struggled at any level of the minor leagues and will finally get his chance to prove it on the biggest stage. Across 69 appearances with Triple-A St. Paul this year, he has hit .308 with a .407 on-base percentage, .940 OPS, 12 home runs and 28 RBIs.
Jenkins is capable of playing all three outfield spots and is a strong defender at each position given his solid speed. The one concern with Jenkins is his availability, which he will hope changes now that he is in MLB.
He has never played more than 100 games in a single season across any level since being drafted, and even this year he suffered a left shoulder sprain that sidelined him for over a month.
Twins center fielder and face of the franchise Byron Buxton is dealing with an injury and may potentially be added to the 10-day injured list to clear space on the active roster. Luke Keaschall, Trevor Larnach, Alan Roden and Kody Clemens currently make up the outfield mix, so it remains unclear who will lose playing time with Jenkins arriving.
Jenkins will have the final month to show what he has, but given the Twins' roster direction and how they will likely move on from Larnach in the offseason, Jenkins should be here to stay regardless of how this season turns out.
