Walker Jenkins Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

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Full name Walker Clay Jenkins
Born 02/19/2005 in Wilmington, NC
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School South Brunswick HS, Southport, N.C.
Drafted in the 1st round (5th overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 2023 (signed for $7,144,200).

View Draft Report

School: South Brunswick HS, Southport, N.C. Source: HS

Commit/Drafted: North Carolina
Age At Draft: 18.4
BA Grade:60/High
Tools:Hit: 60. Power: 65. Run: 55. Field: 55. Arm: 60.

Jenkins entered the 2023 draft cycle as one of the most exciting players in the nation after proving his hitting chops as an underclassman and earning a spot on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team in 2021. He didn’t get to showcase his talents throughout the entire 2022 summer after a hamate injury, but scouts still viewed him as one of the top high school prospects in the nation given his lefthanded swing and power potential. Jenkins has an ideal slugger’s frame at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds with plenty of strength and a picturesque lefthanded swing. Jenkins stands in the box with great posture, balance and rhythm and gets on plane easily and consistently with plus bat speed and excellent timing. It’s an uphill path that’s leveraged for power, and his pure bat-to-ball skills and zone recognition should allow him to be both a plus hitter and potential 30-home run masher who hits in the middle of a lineup and can use the entire field with authority. Jenkins has a ready-made right field profile with plus arm strength, but he has impressed scouts with both his improved running ability and defensive play in center field this spring. He’s turned in plus run times and covers plenty of ground in the outfield with graceful, loping strides and also has solid instincts and route-running ability. He now has a chance to at least begin his pro career in center field, though he’s still more likely an above-average right fielder in the long run. Jenkins has earned comparisons to former Pirates first-rounder Austin Meadows, but there are North Carolina area scouts who say they’ve not seen a player like Jenkins since 1999 No.1 overall pick Josh Hamilton. Jenkins is committed to North Carolina, but he’s the top high school player in the class and should go off the board within the first five picks.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade: 60/High

Track Record: As rising juniors, Jenkins and Max Clark battled for the title of best high school prospect in the 2023 draft class. A year later when the draft arrived, the debate seemed no closer to a resolution. A hamate injury slowed Jenkins during the summer, but he went out and performed week after week during the spring at South Brunswick High to stamp himself as an elite prospect. Jenkins is the bigger and stronger of the two, with a typical right fielder’s profile thanks to his bat speed, strength and power. Deciding which player is better will be a tough call for years to come, but the Twins’ decision on draft day was rather easy. They picked fifth in a draft that was viewed as having a five-player top tier. The fact that the Twins could pick Jenkins was because of a few lucky bounces of ping-pong balls in the draft lottery. Minnesota landed the no. 5 pick despite having less than 2% odds to win a top-six pick. Under the previous draft format, the Twins would have picked 13th. Negotiations with Jenkins came down to the July 25 signing deadline, but he agreed to a Twins-record $7.144 million bonus. Despite the late start, he had an impressive pro debut in which he finished with 14 multi-hit games out of 26.

Scouting Report: Jenkins is one of the toolsiest players the Twins have drafted in the 21st century. His exceptional bat speed gives him the potential to develop into a nearly plus-plus power hitter. He’s a relatively polished hitter as well. Coming into this senior year, there were some concerns that he sold out too much for power, but those concerns have been somewhat allayed by Jenkins’ ability to string together consistent at-bats, something that was apparent in his brief pro debut. He has above-average hand-eye coordination and excellent timing. Jenkins also showed that he runs well enough to make center field an option. A team may eventually have a better center fielder who moves Jenkins to right, but his reads and range are above-average in right and average for center, giving him a chance to stay up the middle early in his pro career. He has a plus arm.

The Future: Jenkins got a brief taste of the Florida State League at Low-A Fort Myers to end 2023. While he may begin 2024 there, he’s likely to also get a lot of time in High-A Cedar Rapids if he progresses as expected. Jenkins has drawn comparisons to Austin Meadows, but some veteran scouts compare him to Josh Hamilton, another north Carolina prep outfielder. Jenkins has the tools and skills to become a foundational player for the Twins. The early reviews from his pro debut are glowing, and if anything his star is even brighter than it was pre-draft. N

Scouting Grades Hit: 60 | Power: 65 | Run: 55 | Field: 55 | Arm: 60

Draft Prospects

School: South Brunswick HS, Southport, N.C. Source: HS

Commit/Drafted: North Carolina
Age At Draft: 18.4
BA Grade:60/High
Tools:Hit: 60. Power: 65. Run: 55. Field: 55. Arm: 60.

Jenkins entered the 2023 draft cycle as one of the most exciting players in the nation after proving his hitting chops as an underclassman and earning a spot on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team in 2021. He didn’t get to showcase his talents throughout the entire 2022 summer after a hamate injury, but scouts still viewed him as one of the top high school prospects in the nation given his lefthanded swing and power potential. Jenkins has an ideal slugger’s frame at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds with plenty of strength and a picturesque lefthanded swing. Jenkins stands in the box with great posture, balance and rhythm and gets on plane easily and consistently with plus bat speed and excellent timing. It’s an uphill path that’s leveraged for power, and his pure bat-to-ball skills and zone recognition should allow him to be both a plus hitter and potential 30-home run masher who hits in the middle of a lineup and can use the entire field with authority. Jenkins has a ready-made right field profile with plus arm strength, but he has impressed scouts with both his improved running ability and defensive play in center field this spring. He’s turned in plus run times and covers plenty of ground in the outfield with graceful, loping strides and also has solid instincts and route-running ability. He now has a chance to at least begin his pro career in center field, though he’s still more likely an above-average right fielder in the long run. Jenkins has earned comparisons to former Pirates first-rounder Austin Meadows, but there are North Carolina area scouts who say they’ve not seen a player like Jenkins since 1999 No.1 overall pick Josh Hamilton. Jenkins is committed to North Carolina, but he’s the top high school player in the class and should go off the board within the first five picks.

Top 100 Rankings

Career Transactions

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed OF Walker Jenkins on the 7-day injured list. Left hamstring strain.
OF Walker Jenkins assigned to FCL Twins.
Minnesota Twins signed OF Walker Jenkins.

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