Walker Jenkins emerged from the CHS Field dugout about 20 minutes before first pitch Tuesday evening, readying for his first home game with the St. Paul Saints, and he signed a few autographs before he ran onto the field to begin stretching.
Once he was done stretching, he took another couple of minutes to sign autographs next to the dugout.
It’s easy for fans to imagine Jenkins, a 20-year-old outfielder, doing this routine before Twins games at Target Field next season. And Jenkins admits he has thought about it as well, unafraid to say his goal is making the Twins’ 2026 Opening Day roster.
“You have to set far-fetched goals and set aspirations that you think are going to be tough to achieve just to push yourself,” Jenkins said. “Ultimately, I want to be on the Twins team and play there for a long time.”
Jenkins, the consensus top-ranked prospect in the Twins farm system, is moving quickly through the organization. He hasn’t played 60 games at any minor league level because he looks superior to his competition.
“How old is he? 20?” asked Twins pitcher Pablo López, who made a rehab start when Jenkins debuted with the Saints in Toledo, Ohio. “He’s a strong 20-year-old.”
Jenkins had one hit in his first 20 at-bats at Class AAA with four walks and six strikeouts. In his second week at the highest level in the minor leagues, Jenkins had 13 hits in 25 at-bats (.520 batting average) with four extra-base hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
“That first week coming up, I was antsy,” Jenkins said. “I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and wanted to do too much. I felt like I got that under my belt, got a day off, and I was able to come back out, and I’m like: ‘All right, man. Let’s just go play. Let’s not worry about all the stats, worry about all the results. Just go play hard.’”