When Will Walker Jenkins Make His MLB Debut With the Twins? (Odds)

In 2023, the Minnesota Twins selected OF Walker Jenkins with the fifth overall pick in the MLB Draft in hopes that he could become their center fielder of the future. Since then, a lot has happened — Jenkins has been stellar at the plate and in the outfield, but hasn't stayed on the diamond consistently, suffering injuries to his quad, hamstring and ankle over the last two seasons.

What's more is that the Twins' circumstances have changed significantly since they drafted Jenkins. Minnesota shocked MLB and their fans by going into a full-on rebuild at the 2025 Trade Deadline, trading away 11 players including Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. One significant name not on that list? Byron Buxton, the Twins' current All-Star center fielder who has a no-trade clause and says he wants to remain a Twin.

There are a few factors contributing to Walker Jenkins' debut date. Let's provide some context to the odds on when Minnesota will give Jenkins the call:

• 40-Player Roster

  Each MLB team has a roster of 40 players who are eligible to play on their Major League club, with 26 of those players getting a spot on the active roster. Since Jenkins hasn't yet reached the MLB level, he's not on their 40-player roster and isn't yet eligible to play in the bigs. The Twins currently have a full 40-player roster, meaning they'll have to designate another player for assignment to add Jenkins to the club, and a DFA makes that player available to other teams, should they be interested. 

   

• MLB Trade Deadline

  The deadline to trade players this season is on Monday, August 3. All 30 teams will be active, whether as buyers, sellers, or a combination of the two. How does this affect Jenkins? If the Twins trade a player or players from their 40-player roster, it would open up a spot for Jenkins without having to DFA a player. For this reason, Jenkins may be just as likely to get the call on August 1 or 2 as he is in the month of July.

   

• Player Development

  If you ask any Major League general manager, they'll tell you that a top prospect should get called up when they're prepared for big league competition — not necessarily when the big club needs them. So while Jenkins has a good OPS in the mid-.800s and is playing great in the outfield, a disciplined team may not call him up just because they could use the outfield help. When will Jenkins actually be ready for MLB competition? That's the Twins' call to make.