Walker Jenkins, 2026 Fantasy Outlook

Walker Jenkins is the Twins’ number one outfield prospect and guess what he battled in 2024? An injury! Twins need to examine what’s in the water at their complex in Fort Myers or maybe just stop drinking Cedar from the Rapids. Okay, before going into Jenkins further, as we get towards the tail end of the fantasy baseball rookies series, I wanna mention some rookies, or potential rookies if they’re called up, that I looked at but decided I didn’t want to go there yet. It doesn’t mean they won’t be in the preseason rankings, but there’s a very good chance they won’t. The names are: Colt Emerson (crazy young with six games at Triple-A); Carson Benge (just sick of Mets’ prospect hitters); Aidan Miller (mentioned why in Justin Crawford outlook); Carter Jensen (Sal Perez); Owen Caissie (too many Ks and platoon); Alex Freeland (needs an injury); Harry Ford (ABs might be there but only if he secures DH), and Jenkins’s teammate, Kaelen Culpepper, who had a similar issue to Aidan Miller, as in Culpepper is just a little bit behind Jenkins in development and I’d be shocked if he leapfrogs Jenkins. The ol’ “First guy up is gonna be this guy” trope. Is it a trope? Yeah, I’m sure it is. So, what can we expect from Walker Jenkins for 2026 fantasy baseball?

First off, thank you for getting rid of Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins’ front office. You’ll never know how much that means to me, but more importantly what it means to the polyp on my lower intestine. My internist says it’s shrunk already! “Bye-bye, polyp!” I scream at my lower belly region. So, Itch had Walker Jenkins 11th on his top 25 fantasy baseball prospects in January of 2025 — or the Big 25 in the Big 25. There he said, “A left-handed hitter at 6′ 3″ 210 lbs, Jenkins walked more than he struck out and slashed .282/.394/.439 in 82 professional games during his first full season. The sixth overall pick in the stacked 2023 class, Jenkins took the top spot on Minnesota’s list last year and is the odds-on favorite to claim it again next season unless the Twinkies really slam the gas on his development: an outcome he might invite with a hot start at Double-A, and let me slam a hot poker in Grey’s ear.” What? Then his top 50 fantasy prospects update in September saw Jenkins moved up to seven, i.e., that shine ain’t shone! Shine ain’t shone? Shine ain’t shined off? Shine ain’t shoned? That shine continues to shone? Meh, you get it.

This year Walker Jenkins went 10/17/.286 in 308 ABs in the minors, where 91 of those came at Triple-A, where he went 2/4/.242 with a 8.8% walk rate and 25.5 K%. This looks like the first time he’s hit a speed bump, if however minor (pun points!). I imagine by April/May, Jenkins will be hitting .320 in Triple-A and ready to be called up that’s at the ripe age of 21. Yeah, buried the lede there. He’s only 20 right now. A 20-year-old in Triple-A should always get your attention and now that Rocco’s gone I’m pretty sure he’ll have the Twins’ attention too. Jenkins is a hot Spring Training away from breaking camp and being an immediate top three candidate for the ROY. A middle of the order bat that can’t be denied. Let’s look at some clips, especially this kid’s size:

Walker Jenkins’ first homer at CHS Field definitely wasn’t a cheapie. pic.twitter.com/QA7hLFsBh5

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) September 14, 2025

That’s 6′ 3″ and 210, according to Itch, but he looks like 6′ 5″ and 240 to me. And I used to guess this shizz at carnivals. Here’s another:

Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins got the call to Triple-A ?

? 2023 Number 5 overall pick

? Number 14 overall prospect

? .903 OPS across 3 MiLB levels in 2025 pic.twitter.com/gDAzRC59eZ

— MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2025

This kid is ridiculous. He’s a future superstar. Will it be in 2026? Meh, that’s the tricky part. Conservatively, I think we don’t see him until May/June and then who knows. He’ll still only be 21. An ill-timed injury and Triple-A still presents itself as a challenge? This might be your first 2027 fantasy outlook post. He will be worth drafting at the backend of the top 500 for deep league upside. For 2026 fantasy baseball, I’ll give Walker Jenkins projections of 24/7/21/.254/12 in 204 ABs with a chance for much more or less.