Could Walker Jenkins Go on a Holliday Tour?

Let’s not forget Rodriguez as a starting (corner) outfielder possibility in 2025 (or late 2024 for that matter).

The point being, even though Walker is the next Roy Hobbs, there is no reason to push him too fast.  His total development as a ballplayer - physically, mentally and in terms of baseball education - is what the Twins should be looking to attain.

Give the lad only the rope he can handle and be patient.  2026 would be just fine for a late season debut, if even that isn’t too fast. 

How come Twins never get a stud to come up, permanantly, and play at very high caliber at age of 19-20??????????

Our 2026 OF: Jenkins/Wallner/E. Rodriguez

That looks pretty awesome with Buxton backing these guys up. Fast foreward to the end of "26 into "27 and you add Jose Rodriguez and Winokur into the mix. OF future looks bright.

MLB top 100 has Jenkins at #10. Lee at #18 and E. Rodriguez at #42. Now we need to figure out this pitching pipeline thing......

On a side note, if Holliday and Jenkins were available in the same draft I would still opt for Holliday over Jenkins. I think Holliday is just that good and will be that good.

On the MLB Top 100 just released yesterday E. Rodriguez actually rose from #48 in 2023 to #42. It's going to be fun watching him Star in the MLB for years to come. Along with Jenkins and Lee. No trading of these 3 Falvey.

1 hour ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

On the MLB Top 100 just released yesterday E. Rodriguez actually rose from #48 in 2023 to #42. It's going to be fun watching him Star in the MLB for years to come. Along with Jenkins and Lee. No trading of these 3 Falvey.

Throw in three really good rookies from last year (Lewis, Julien, and Wallner) plus a top 10 MLB young catcher (Jeffers), by 2026 we potentially have seven cheap (league minimum or arbitration) controllable young stars to go alongside Correa in the field.  We also have plenty of additional young talent to add in around the edges. Let’s hope the FO lets this roster gestate.  

Jenkins is a very exciting prospect. He is 18. He has played 26 professional games. Calm down and let the kid have his best path to mlb. Most of the scenarios proposed only apply to some of the greatest players ever. I hope that is Walker Jenkins but I doubt it. Reminds me of when Sanó was lighting it up as a rookie and one of the writers at TD compared him to Harmon. I called that a total joke which was unpopular and well true. This is how ridiculous expectations are built. 

36 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Throw in three really good rookies from last year (Lewis, Julien, and Wallner) plus a top 10 MLB young catcher (Jeffers), by 2026 we potentially have seven cheap (league minimum or arbitration) controllable young stars to go alongside Correa in the field.  We also have plenty of additional young talent to add in around the edges. Let’s hope the FO lets this roster gestate.  

Extensions of the 4 guys you mention might be the most prudent thing to do since we are not signing FA's this season. I'll add Duran to those 4 listed. Ober and Ryan possibly too.

By the end of ‘25, its Wallner, Jenkins, Erod and Buxton as the 4 outfielders. The SP pipeline starts throwing 2 rookies into the mix every year starting in ‘24. No reason to trade any of these guys away. Lets play money ball!!

The Mick joined the Yankees a few months before his 20th birthday.  Jenkins turns 20 in February 2025.  So to match Mick’s timeline, he needs to join the Twins late this year. 
 

Someday there will be a player as good as Mantle.  I say, why can’t it be Jenkins?

7 hours ago, Dawgzilla said:

How come Twins never get a stud to come up, permanantly, and play at very high caliber at age of 19-20??????????

Bert Blyleven was an absolute stud. Look up his numbers. Over 440 innings in his first two years and he was barely 19 years old when he debuted for the Twins. Bert went on to throw 242 complete games and 60 shutouts. Blyleven was a superstar. In 1973 Bert had 25 CG and 9 shutouts. It doesn't get any better really.

I'm hoping Jenkins makes it up to Cedar Rapids by June so I can watch him play. There is a ton of hype for the young man but special players ignore the talk and focus on learning and producing. From my perspective, based only on a trove of other's judgments, Jenkins has Buxton talent. I don't ever remember Lewis receiving the accolades for his skills and talent that Buxton and Jenkins had going into the draft. Lewis received major praise for his personality.  I think Mauer was a category of his own as an athlete. Terry Ryan said that Mauer could have been put directly into an MLB  lineup  after being drafted if played in the field as opposed to being a catcher. There is a sharp learning curve at catcher. Count me as one who is very excited to see how Walker Jenkins takes to his first full year of professional baseball.

9 hours ago, Dawgzilla said:

How come Twins never get a stud to come up, permanantly, and play at very high caliber at age of 19-20??????????

Newly minted first ballot HOFer Joe Mauer would like a word please.  

3 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Bert Blyleven was an absolute stud. Look up his numbers. Over 440 innings in his first two years and he was barely 19 years old when he debuted for the Twins. Bert went on to throw 242 complete games and 60 shutouts. Blyleven was a superstar. In 1973 Bert had 25 CG and 9 shutouts. It doesn't get any better really.

I know he didn't quite make star status,though he was an All-Star his first two seasons, but Butch Wynegar was only 26 days past 20 y/o when he debuted. But he was pretty darn good for his first few seasons. 

Carew was only 3 or 4 months past 21.

9 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

There's an awful lot to unpack here.

First of all, full admission, projections had the Twins drafting Clark and I wanted that. I saw him as a pure CF. In retrospect, despite all I had read, I just missed the idea/conception that Jenkins was a legitimate CF option. I guess I just listened to too many "As he fills out" comments. And truth is, he's so young still, he COULD just NATURALLY grow and bulk up to force a move to a corner spot one day. But the kid is so well put together, and has so much natural power already, you almost want him to stop growing physically at this point, LOL.

He reminds me so much of Royce Lewis in ability and attitude, and intelligence and attitude and faith it's wonderful. I'm so impressed by this kid not just because his debut was great, but because of his work ethic. 

I do have to object to speculation, however. We want to focus on Holliday, per the OP, but that's not really fair to do so. Hrbek exploded, as did Puckett and Mauer. We forget that WAY back in the day, Blyleven debuted as a teenager. With Hrbek, Puckett and Mauer, and even Buxton, the Twins HAVE HAD those early 20 year olds debut. 

But the whole Griffey and Gooden's and Harper's and a few others making a mark at 19 and 20/21 yo are unique. Some become HOF players...and some flame out. 

It's AWESOME if the Twins have another early 20's stud prospect who reaches MLB that soon. (Lewis would have if not for the knee injuries). But I would be ECSTATIC if Jenkins rose to AA for the last half of 2024 as a 20yo! It would put him on the cusp of reaching MLB in 2025 at some point as a 21yo! That would be outstanding!

But I really hate projecting one kid vs another when everyone is different, and time will ultimately be the factor. Holliday might hit a wall, and Jenkins might break through that wall. Time will tell. If he debuts as a stud at 22yo, I certainly wouldn't hold it against him.

I'm not a betting man. But I understand the law of averages. The Twins got really lucky with Lee and Jenkins both. The FO knows this. I would be SHOCKED if Lee is moved. And Jenkins is going nowhere except up. But if Jenkins isn't ready until 2025 or so, I'm not going to fret or worry. 

 

Talk about a guy that flamed out. Joe Charboneau. I know he was a little bit older. But he looked so young. And in 1980 he looked so good. Great. What happened? Pressure maybe. Initially drafted by the Twins.

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

Ugh.  You want Jenkins to lead the league in striking out 5 different seasons?

Correct me if I am wrong, but Mantle is in the HOF, isn’t he?

22 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

There's an awful lot to unpack here.

First of all, full admission, projections had the Twins drafting Clark and I wanted that. I saw him as a pure CF. In retrospect, despite all I had read, I just missed the idea/conception that Jenkins was a legitimate CF option. I guess I just listened to too many "As he fills out" comments. And truth is, he's so young still, he COULD just NATURALLY grow and bulk up to force a move to a corner spot one day. But the kid is so well put together, and has so much natural power already, you almost want him to stop growing physically at this point, LOL.

He reminds me so much of Royce Lewis in ability and attitude, and intelligence and attitude and faith it's wonderful. I'm so impressed by this kid not just because his debut was great, but because of his work ethic. 

I do have to object to speculation, however. We want to focus on Holliday, per the OP, but that's not really fair to do so. Hrbek exploded, as did Puckett and Mauer. We forget that WAY back in the day, Blyleven debuted as a teenager. With Hrbek, Puckett and Mauer, and even Buxton, the Twins HAVE HAD those early 20 year olds debut. 

But the whole Griffey and Gooden's and Harper's and a few others making a mark at 19 and 20/21 yo are unique. Some become HOF players...and some flame out. 

It's AWESOME if the Twins have another early 20's stud prospect who reaches MLB that soon. (Lewis would have if not for the knee injuries). But I would be ECSTATIC if Jenkins rose to AA for the last half of 2024 as a 20yo! It would put him on the cusp of reaching MLB in 2025 at some point as a 21yo! That would be outstanding!

But I really hate projecting one kid vs another when everyone is different, and time will ultimately be the factor. Holliday might hit a wall, and Jenkins might break through that wall. Time will tell. If he debuts as a stud at 22yo, I certainly wouldn't hold it against him.

I'm not a betting man. But I understand the law of averages. The Twins got really lucky with Lee and Jenkins both. The FO knows this. I would be SHOCKED if Lee is moved. And Jenkins is going nowhere except up. But if Jenkins isn't ready until 2025 or so, I'm not going to fret or worry. 

 

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but won’t Jenkins be 19 during all of the 2024 season?

22 hours ago, Linus said:

Jenkins is a very exciting prospect. He is 18. He has played 26 professional games. Calm down and let the kid have his best path to mlb. Most of the scenarios proposed only apply to some of the greatest players ever. I hope that is Walker Jenkins but I doubt it. Reminds me of when Sanó was lighting it up as a rookie and one of the writers at TD compared him to Harmon. I called that a total joke which was unpopular and well true. This is how ridiculous expectations are built. 

We all hope Walker Jenkins blossoms into an All Star but perhaps we need to pump the brakes on the small sample; Compare these 2023 stats between complex action and Low A:

Player A 26 G, 115 PA, .362/.417/.571/.989

Player B 24 G, 114 PA, .374/.496/.550/1.055

Player A is Walker Jenkins, who is five months older than Player B, middle infielder Colt Emerson, whom the Seattle Mariners selected with the 22nd pick of the 2023 draft.

Each deserves fan excitement but it's too early to anoint either a star.

14 hours ago, Fatbat said:

By the end of ‘25, its Wallner, Jenkins, Erod and Buxton as the 4 outfielders. The SP pipeline starts throwing 2 rookies into the mix every year starting in ‘24. No reason to trade any of these guys away. Lets play money ball!!

The Twins certainly have a VERY exciting bunch of young prospects in the system now, and several of them look like they may end up being high quality, all-star type players. But man, about that pitching pipeline ... we still need some better arms in the rotation. Just look at the Angels. In recent years they had two of the best players in the game with Trout and Ohtani, and yet they never even made the playoffs during that time. Granted, Ohtani was pitching during SOME of this period, but still it shows the need for better starting pitching if you want to make the post-season and actually win a series or two or three. Granted, we have some good young arms in the minors too, but not many that have the potential to be frontline starters, except for maybe Soto or Prielipp, and still too many question marks at this stage for those guys. 

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

The Twins certainly have a VERY exciting bunch of young prospects in the system now, and several of them look like they may end up being high quality, all-star type players. But man, about that pitching pipeline ... we still need some better arms in the rotation. Just look at the Angels. In recent years they had two of the best players in the game with Trout and Ohtani, and yet they never even made the playoffs during that time. Granted, Ohtani was pitching during SOME of this period, but still it shows the need for better starting pitching if you want to make the post-season and actually win a series or two or three. Granted, we have some good young arms in the minors too, but not many that have the potential to be frontline starters, except for maybe Soto or Prielipp, and still too many question marks at this stage for those guys. 

Agreed. The Pohlads have $4,000,000,000.00 in net worth and they wont invest 25,000,000.00 in another SP.  I get excited about prospects that can change the twins or increase their chances of success. With the success that we are having in the minors,  its going to translate into MLB. We have an almost complete team to get to the post season every year.  The Angles had 2 superstars, a few other really good players and a bunch of meh.  Thats not us.  

9 hours ago, DocBauer said:

He turns 20yo February 2024 based on BF reporting. 

Still a  very, very young prospect.

Walker Jenkins DOB - 02/19/2005; 19 years old in a couple of weeks.

Robin Yount - debuted at 18 with Brewers and played 20 years from '74 to '93 with the Brew Crew.  HOF career with a couple of MVP's, Gold Gloves, SS, OF, 1B, DH.  Not many like him by playing in '73 in A-ball and then making the leap in '74 and never looking back.

Fun to dream that Jenkins could replicate a similar trajectory but in reality not the same at all.  Takes a very special talent, maturity beyond years to be a "Grown up" as a 'Kid".  I like what I have read about him and he may be that type of talent.   

23 hours ago, Dawgzilla said:

How come Twins never get a stud to come up, permanantly, and play at very high caliber at age of 19-20??????????

Because it is very unusual. And rushing a prospect who isn’t quite ready can create its own problems when there are some inevitable bumps along the way. Teams also manage callups to manipulate time on the major league roster to maintain team control of free agency for another year. 

One thing is certain, Jenkins and Lee are the only 2 in our minors that have a shot at debuting at about 20 yo. They have both fallen in the FO laps just as Polanco and Kepler are at the tail end of their own decade+ with the twins. Jenkins has the highest ceiling of the two. Only Jenkins will determine when he gets to the show.  If there was ever a kid that can get to the show and be the next Trout type, its Jenkins.  Lee is more of a polanco type comparison. Could be much higher if he avoids major injuries that have limited polanco. 
I seriously doubt the FO is going to play games with either of their service times.