Walker Jenkins Wants To Hit the Ball Hard (and Usually Does)

Walker Jenkins is more than just the top-rated prospect in the Minnesota Twins system. Drafted fifth overall in 2023 out of Southport, North Carolina’s South Brunswick High School, the soon-to-turn-20-year-old is one of the game’s top prospects. His left-handed stroke is a big reason why. As Eric Longenhagen notes in Jenkins’ forthcoming Top 100 prospect report, the outfielder “has exciting feel to hit and barrel control. He tracks pitches exceptionally well and can move his hands all over the strike zone.” Longenhagen goes on to note that while Jenkins is likely a left fielder (the Twins have primarily deployed him in center so far), he “should hit enough to be a heart-of-the-order hitter and impact regular regardless of position.”

His first full professional season was impressive. In 368 plate appearances split across four levels — he finished the year in Double-A — Jenkins had a 139 wRC+ to go with six home runs and a .282/.394/.439 slash line. Moreover, he swiped 17 bases in 20 attempts.

Jenkins discussed his hitting approach in the final week of January.

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David Laurila: How would you describe yourself as a hitter?

Walker Jenkins: “Above all things, I’m a hitter who is going to go up there and try to get my best swing off. You have guys that get categorized as, ‘Oh, they’re hitters, but they have no power,’ while for others it’s, ‘They’re all power, but no hit.’ I want to be a good hitter. I’m going to hit first, and when I get my A-swing off, that’s when my power is going to come.

“If you can continuously hit the ball on the barrel, good things are going to happen. That’s what I try to do, because I don’t like striking out. I don’t like giving at-bats away. But when I get in a hitter’s count, I’m not going to get cheated.”

Laurila: An A-swing is optimal, but a hitter needs more than just that to succeed against high-level pitching. Do you agree?

Jenkins: “I mean, you’ve got to have multiple swings. If you can get your A-swing off every at-bat, that is normally going to be a very good game. But you’re going to get into tough counts, and pitchers are going to throw good pitches. You’ve got to be able to make things work. And you don’t always need your A-swing. I’ve hit some of my hardest balls on what weren’t necessarily my favorite swings.”

Laurila: In their 2025 Prospect Handbook, Baseball America compared your swing to Joe Mauer’s. Does that make sense to you?

Jenkins: “Yes, sir. It’s a two-hand finish, where I’m completely balanced. Everything is in line, in sync. I’m not falling down. My body is over the ball, staying balanced, and normally I hit it pretty hard.”

Laurila: The report also called it “a level swing.” A lot of times, a level swing can mean line drives, but not a lot of lift or home runs.

Jenkins: “That’s definitely true. Whenever I can get my A-swing off, I’m not necessarily trying to lift balls. Guys are too good now. They can get too much movement on balls for you to really try to uppercut them, and that makes it tough to cover up in the zone. I’m trying to hit line drives through people’s heads. It’s when I get that barrel a little further out in the zone… that’s when you create some serious lift, with power.”

Laurila: Are you primarily looking to hit the ball out front?

Jenkins: “I mean, you make your money when you hit the ball out front. That’s where you’re going to produce more damage, more power. Even on outside pitches. If you look at where hitters hit [pitches], even driving them to the [opposite] field, it’s still out in front of the plate the majority of the time. If I can get my hands extended and create that power… that’s what I want to do.

“One thing about hitting is that everything has got to be in sync. Shoulders, hands, hips, feet — everything from the ground up. If it’s not in sync, normally it’s hard to get a swing off that you’re trying to get off.”

Laurila: Did you approach hitting much the same way in high school, or have you learned a lot since coming to pro ball?

Jenkins: “I would say some of both. The outlook on how to go into certain at-bats against certain pitchers has changed simply because, first, I didn’t see as many good arms in high school. Second of all, you don’t have the same information [in high school]. Information helps you learn more, and that’s what the game is about. How can you make an adjustment quicker than the other guy? That’s what I want to do. From at-bat to at-bat, pitch to pitch, game to game, how can I make an adjustment to be successful? That’s what I’m kind of figuring out. Whether we’re facing north, south, east, west — whichever kind of guy — I’m figuring out where I want to set my zone, set my sights, and know what I need to attack and what I need to leave alone.”

Laurila: How do you balance sticking with your strengths versus adapting to the guy on the mound?

Jenkins: “I want to go into an at-bat knowing what I’m trying to do. Whenever I started to get away from that…normally, that makes it tough to keep a plan. Do you know what I mean? So, I try to go in with an approach, knowing who I’m facing, what they’re throwing, what they like to throw. Then I just kind of stick to it. I feel like I’m a good enough hitter, and I trust my abilities and preparation enough, that even if I get [beat] on a pitch or two, I can make an adjustment and still win the at-bat.”

Laurila: You’ve had an extremely high contact rate. Does that ever work to your disadvantage? Some pitches that are put into play aren’t ones that a hitter can drive.

Jenkins: “For sure. I wouldn’t trade it, though. I think putting the ball in play is one of the most valuable assets you can have. That said, one thing that will be big for me this year is getting ahead in counts and not swinging at a pitcher’s pitch. Most times that I’m swinging, I am going to put the ball in play, but like you said, sometimes it’s not actually impacting the ball. So this year, I really need to hone in on a certain zone, usually middle of the plate, when I’m ahead in the count. I want to be swinging at something I can really do damage with.”

Laurila: How hard will it be to do that? To this point in your life, you’ve been able to hit most everything.

Jenkins: “It depends. A lot of times I want to hone in more, but I also had a decent amount of success on tough pitches last year. That makes you be like, ‘Man, I know I can get this guy, no matter where he throws it.’ So it’s more about, ‘Alright, am I going to be more successful swinging at a pitch in the middle of the zone?’ It’s about going into the at-bat knowing that if I get ahead, I want to shrink [my zone] even more. I want to find what I’m looking for, where I’m looking for it, and then not miss it.”

Laurila: Would you identify as a power hitter?

Jenkins: “If you watch me in BP, I think people would say yes. But like I said, I’m a hitter before the power. The power is going to come if I hit the ball on the barrel. My approach is that I’m not going to get beat, but I’m also going to try to hit the ball as hard as I can. The power is going to come, so I feel like it’s a mix.”

Laurila: What are the favorite conversations you have with your hitting coaches and coordinators?

Jenkins: “They’re about getting back to the things that work. Whether I’m feeling great, or not feeling good at all, it’s, ‘Where were we? Where are we at now? Where do we want to be?’ Maybe we’re looking at video. Say, a month ago, when I wasn’t making outs, it was, ‘This is where your body was; this is how you were moving.’ A month later, it’s, ‘This is where you are now.’ I like seeing those things, because it’s a long season. You’re playing a lot of games, and things change, whether you mean for them to or not.

“I think it’s awesome to look, see those little changes, and almost put the pieces back together like a puzzle. I feel like I’ve identified a couple of pieces that, if I can keep them in my swing, I’m always going to be successful. But again, sometimes you get away from them, unintentionally. Those are my favorite conversations, the ones where it’s like, ‘Look, this is where we need to work to get better. This is how we get back to it.’”

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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Dillon Lawson, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis