Walker Jenkins and Charlee Soto Enter 2024 as Eager Learners

[Theodore Tollefson]

Walker Jenkins and Charlee Soto met with the Ft. Myers media on Wednesday, ahead of their season opener. Here's the exciting insight the Twins top two picks from the 2023 MLB Draft shared on the upcoming 2024 season. 

Image courtesy of © Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels are beginning their 2024 season with some of the most exciting young talent within the Twins organization. 

This includes the likes of the Twins' first two picks in the 2023 MLB Draft, Walker Jenkins and Charlee Soto, who met with media members at Hammond Stadium alongside manager Brian Meyer on Wednesday. 

The top two picks of the Twins' 2023 draft class are both entering their first full seasons of professional baseball. Jenkins got an early start to his pro career last season, playing in 26 games split between the FCL Twins and Ft. Myers and posting a triple-slash of .362/.417/.571 in 115 plate appearances.

“It was a ton of fun,” said Jenkins, in audio forwarded to Twins Daily by Mighty Mussels play-by-play broadcaster John Vittas. “Obviously a learning process, learning about a lot of different things, myself, my routine, how I need to go about it. But it just goes back to being fun. You go out and play baseball as a job, it doesn’t really get better than that.”

Soto, on the other hand, didn’t throw a pitch in a game last season, and he’ll be making his professional debut on Saturday. Nonetheless, both are still ripe to gain experience and shared their enthusiasm for the upcoming season.

“From a young age, I’ve always thrown hard,” said Soto. “I mean just all the work in the weight room. I work a lot on my legs, I think legs are probably the main part of being a pitcher. The transition from high school ball to pro ball wasn’t easy, by any means, but I feel like I truly belong here.”

Meyer knows these two top prospects have a long way to go in their pro careers. He mentioned how important the instructional side of Low-A is for players like Jenkins and Soto, and for every other player on his roster. It’s one of the things Meyers enjoys, especially coming from a background in collegiate baseball for 13 years prior to joining the Twins organization in 2020. 

“Teaching them the fundamentals, whether it be the baserunning, cuts, and relays, getting them to understand the finer points that don’t show up on the stat sheet but can really impact winning not just at our level but at the major-league level too. You bring out the true teacher in a lot of us here, which I really enjoy,” Meyer said. 

Given the amount of time Soto has had to ease into his first professional game since being drafted last July, he’s worked on upgrading his pitch arsenal, installing two new pitches.

“I’ve added a sinker and I’ve added a sweeper. Those two pitches have been added, and I feel like those are two pitches that are going to help me in the long run. The sinker and the sweeper, they’re just two nasty pitches.”

Jenkins is entering 2024 with an open mind. Last year's taste of professional action was an experience he doesn’t take for granted, but it was a small sample, and he wants to treat this season as if he is starting from the very beginning, like Soto is. 

“I have a full season ahead of me. It’s my first time playing probably 100-plus games in a year and I think I am going to learn things I don’t even know I am going to learn. I’m really excited to figure out how I want to go about it; how to be successful, how to keep healthy, do all those things, and just figure out the process,” Jenkins said. 

The mindset Jenkins has for 2024 has caught the attention of Meyer, who managed Jenkins in the majority of his 2023 games. The baseball lifer recognizes that where Jenkins was selected in the 2023 draft is not just an indicator of the caliber of his talents as a ballplayer.

“He’s a special player,” Meyer said on Jenkins. “There’s a reason he was drafted so high, not just for what he does on the field but how he carries himself off the field. And the determination that he has day in and day out, it’s exciting for me as a manager to see how he goes about himself.”

Soto does not hold back on his enthusiasm to get his professional career started, but his excitement is shared with his teammates drafted after him in the 2023 draft, Ross Dunn and Tanner Hall, who will be a part of the Mighty Mussels starting rotation alongside him.

“We have a lot of guys who are going to go out there and shove. Both guys played on the U.S.A. college team, two guys who are going to go out there and dominate, and the fans should expect a lot of wins this season.”

The teenage Soto's maturity shows not only with his work ethic, but in how he props up his teammates and listens to them.

“Charlee’s just a workhorse. I haven’t seen a whole lot of him on the mound, but I saw him throw a couple of innings in spring training. But he’s a workhorse in the weight room, he’s very mature for an 18-year-old. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, knows where he wants to go, and understands this is his first step with it,” Meyer said.

Jenkins and Soto are the headliners in the Mighty Mussels lineup to begin the 2024 season. They both recognize how much growth they have ahead (as men and as ballplayers) as the season begins. That awareness has kept them grounded, and figures to help them focus on the process of advancing toward MLB in 2024, rather than letting talent or celebrity cloud their vision of the challenges immediately before them.

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[mikelink45]

Really enjoyable look at the two prospects.  Next tell us about the other two pitchers you mentioned that will be in the rotation with him.

[jmlease1]

These are two really hot prospects and should be a lot of fun to follow throughout the season. I suspect Jenkins will advance faster than Soto, but it's kind of exciting that that Twins felt Soto was ready for full-year baseball in Low-A this season. I hope he gets a little rope on his innings and pitch counts so we can see what kind of starter he might be.

Jenkins is just so exciting as a prospect, it's hard not to have insanely high expectations.

[Fatbat]

We really knocked the 2023 draft out of the park. Great talent and quality humans. Years from now it will be a great look back to see how legendary last years draft was. 

[DocBauer]

Every time I hear from both of these kids, or read quotes, I'm just more and more impressed by their knowledge and character and work ethic.

Love the comment from Soto how he already recognizes how important leg work is for a pitcher for not only velocity, but endurance. 

I have Hall as a prospect to "click" in 2024, but I'm embarrassed to admit I had TOTALLY  forgot about LHP Ross Dunn in the 10th round! And I always pay attention to LHP. Shame on me. 

The character and maturity of both of these young men impresses me as much of their talent does. But the reality of history and ability says a healthy Jenkins will BLOW BY A ball and finish 2024 in AA, even at the end of the season. But the "still new to being a full time pitcher " that is Soto will need more time as he commands pitches and LEARNS how to actually "pitch". His pure velocity and potential STUFF is intriguing, but he's going to need a couple years to find the "command" he needs to succeed.  But he's amongst the best PURE ARMS the Twins the Twins have drafted in YEARS.