Does Walker Jenkins Deserve A Spot On the Twins' Roster Next Season?

The Minnesota Twins saw promising results from one of their highly touted young hitters this season even though they missed out on a playoff spot for the third-straight year and finished third in the AL Central.

Walker Jenkins, who the team selected fifth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, made his major-league debut in August and recorded a hit in three out of his first four games.

He also launched his first career home run on Aug. 31 against the division rival Detroit Tigers. That was also one of his best nights yet as he also drove in two runs.

Still, the 21-year-old center fielder's growing pains were evident when he fell into a 4-for-45 slump at the plate prior to Minnesota's road series against the Los Angeles Angels toward the end of the season.

Jenkins finally broke out of his slumber on Sept. 17, going 3-for-4 and hitting his second homer of the year even as the Twins came up short 5-4 in extra innings. He maintained that pace the next day with a similar three-hit performance to help Minnesota even the series with a 3-0 shutout win.

Furthermore, Jenkins homered in the team's 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants and wrapped up the season with another strong game versus the Texas Rangers on Sept. 27, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run.

Entering his sophomore season, Jenkins could be in the mix for more playing time alongside Emmanuel Rodríguez who made his debut less than a month later. 

Regardless, it's worth noting that Jenkins' recent resurgence came against other non-contending clubs so there is a chance he might struggle once more whenever he faces better pitching on stronger teams like the New York Yankees who held him hitless in both of the games he played against them this year.

Should Jenkins run into another wall, Byron Buxton is expected be back and healthy next year after undergoing season-ending hip surgery and could continue getting the majority of the reps in center field. The 32-year-old Buxton batted .254, drove in 46 runs and recorded an .829 OPS before re-aggravating his injury in Minnesota's loss to the Athletics on Aug. 25.

For now, Jenkins has done reasonably well for being as young as he is and being a last minute call-up during the latter half of the season where it was becoming clear by the day that the Twins weren't going anywhere.