Walker Clay Jenkins (born February 19, 2005) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

organization.

Amateur career

Jenkins attended South Brunswick High School in

Southport, North Carolina Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Its population was 3,828 as of the 2018 census. The mayor is Joseph P. Hatem. Southport is the location of the North Carolina Fourth of ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. As a junior in 2022, he batted .527 with ten home runs, forty RBIs, 13 doubles and 18 stolen bases. He was named the Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year. That summer, he participated in the Prospect Development Pipeline League at the

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Basebal ...

National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. He was also selected to play in the High School All-American Game at Dodger Stadium. Jenkins entered his senior baseball season in 2023 as a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. Jenkins finished his senior year with a .480 batting average and 32 runs scored. He committed and signed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels baseball The North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team, commonly referred to as Carolina, represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in NCAA Division I college baseball. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. ...

team.

Professional career

Jenkins was selected by the

in the first round, with the fifth overall pick, of the

2023 Major League Baseball draft The 2023 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 9–11, 2023, in Seattle. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. For the first time, a draft lottery was used to set a portion of the draft order. The first six selections ...

. On July 25, 2023, Jenkins signed with the Twins for an above-slot deal worth $7.14 million. Jenkins made his professional debut with the

Florida Complex League Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, th ...

and was later promoted to the

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at H ...

. Over 26 games, he batted .362 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. He was assigned to Fort Myers to open the 2024 season. He was promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels in late July.https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-walker-jenkins-promoted-to-high-a/

References

External links

2005 births Living people Baseball outfielders Baseball players from North Carolina Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players Florida Complex League Twins players {{US-baseball-outfielder-stub