BREAKING: Twins to Call Up Top Prospect Walker Jenkins

The Twins are calling up top prospect Walker Jenkins, sources have confirmed to Twins Daily. The No. 1 prospect in the organization and (arguably) one of the top 10 prospects in baseball will join the team at Target Field on Friday, with the Twins' postseason hopes on life support entering a crucial series against the division-leading Chicago White Sox. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com broke the news first.

Jenkins, 21, joins the team despite navigating recurring injuries in his minor-league career. In 69 games in 2026 for Triple-A St. Paul, Jenkins managed a .308/.407/.532 line, with 32 extra-base hits, a 13.3% walk rate, and a stellar 15.4% strikeout rate.

The promotion is likely to come as a corresponding move to Byron Buxton hitting the IL, after Buxton left Tuesday’s game in West Sacramento with an as-yet-unspecified hip injury. After the Twins declined to add Jenkins amid a torrid offensive performance in August, injury has finally forced a debut for one of the game's top prospects.

Jenkins was the fifth overall selection in a loaded 2023 draft class. The Twins were the biggest beneficiary of the inaugural MLB Draft Lottery the previous December, vaulting into the top five selections of what was considered a five-player draft. Jenkins was selected after Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, Wyatt Langford, and recent MLB debutant Max Clark. Jenkins's promotion will spark particular excitement, as it comes on the heels of the recent promotion of fellow top-100 prospect Kaelen Culpepper, who was called up on August 7 and has settled in as the Twins’ regular shortstop.

The timing of his promotion is significant, too. Jenkins can no longer amass 45 days of service time before the end of the season (that deadline passed more than a week ago), and thanks to waiting an extra handful of days, the team can also promote him now without worrying about whether he’ll reach 130 at-bats. Even if he plays every day, he won’t do so, so he’ll retain rookie eligibility heading into 2027 and could net Minnesota a Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) draft pick if he wins the Rookie of the Year Award or finishes in the top three in MVP voting before becoming arbitration-eligible.

Jenkins has a well-rounded skill set highlighted by elite bat-to-ball skills and excellent swing decisions, giving him a strong on-base floor to accompany above-average speed and defense in center field. Despite some prospect fatigue setting in during his journey up the minor-league ladder, Jenkins has retained strong positioning on national lists, being featured as the No. 4 overall prospect on FanGraphs and No. 10 phenom at Baseball America after midseason updates.

Jenkins joins a crowded outfield picture, with the Twins retaining several other left-handed options on the 40-man roster. In the immediate future, though, he’ll be the most anticipated Twins prospect to debut since Buxton. He also comes up to a team that desperately needs a spark. Whether he's able to deliver that or not, this marks the full arrival of a new era of Twins baseball.