Walker Jenkins has a straightforward objective as he prepares for his first big-league spring training with the Minnesota Twins.

“This year,” he said in a southern drawl, “my goal is to make it through the first week of spring.”

Jenkins is Minnesota’s prodigal prospect. In 2023, the Twins got lucky in Major League Baseball’s inaugural draft lottery, moving up to the fifth pick in a five-player draft despite having the league’s 13th-best odds.

They capitalized by drafting Jenkins, who hails from Michael Jordan’s hometown of Wilmington, N.C. However, unlike Jordan, he’s good at baseball.

Keith Law, The Athletic’s prospect guru, loved the pick.

The Twins had the fifth pick in a draft with five elite players, and they didn’t get cute, taking the one available to them in outfielder Walker Jenkins, who’s often compared to a young Larry Walker for his athleticism and swing. Jenkins can hit, and he’s going to come into plus power pretty soon, while he already shows some feel for the strike zone. He’s going to be a very large adult.

He could easily end up the best guy in the draft class, even though he went in the No. 5 spot.

Walker Jenkins is Minnesota’s highest pick since it drafted Royce Lewis first overall in 2017. Injuries immediately plagued Lewis. In 2021, he tore his ACL slipping on ice outside his suburban Dallas home.

Lewis made his major-league debut a year later. He hit .300/.317/.550 in 12 games before tearing his ACL again while playing center field.

Royce Lewis’ center field debut for the #MNTwins lasts just three innings.

Lewis got shaken up crashing into the wall on this catch and is now out of the game. Replaced by Nick Gordon.pic.twitter.com/cRL8jlRUeE

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) May 29, 2022

One injury was lousy luck. The other felt more preventable.

Still, Lewis looked like a franchise player when he returned from injury in 2023. He hit .309/.372/.548 with 15 home runs, including a franchise-record four grand slams, in 58 games. He also rose to the occasion in the playoffs, had a 1.119 OPS, and hit four home runs in six games against the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.

However, Lewis has hit .235/.288/.416 with 29 home runs in the past two seasons.

Some of that is stubbornness. Lewis has resisted changing his swing, even as the league has adjusted to him. Still, his injuries have negatively affected his career. Lewis is no longer an option at shortstop, and they have limited him to an average of 82 games per season at a crucial point in his development.

Walker Jenkins is trying to avoid the same fate. However, he must pull off a balancing act to avoid injury while developing into a star player. He believes he can better tap into his prodigious power by increasing his bat speed.

Walker Jenkins takes flight for his first HR of the season 💣

🚀103 mph
🚀28 degrees
🚀384 feet#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/NuDLNIln7U

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) June 23, 2024

“It’s literally swinging and swinging hard, man,” he said. “For me, I’m a relatively big guy, and for some of my numbers, [the coaches are] just like, ‘You’ve just got to swing it. You’ve just got to go up there and swing harder.’”

Jenkins wants to swing hard and steal outs in the outfield. Still, he must exercise caution when working out to avoid putting too much stress on his body.

Therefore, Jenkins will take 8 to 10 full-speed swings when he’s working in the cage, then rest. On other days, he’ll swim to avoid putting too much pressure on his joints. He adheres to a strict routine, which he will taper down once he’s playing every day during the season, to stay healthy.

“I feel like I do a fantastic job of taking care of my body, going into the offseason, getting prepared for everything,” Jenkins said. “But some of it’s just I think when you go hard, when you give it 110%, you’re going to get hurt at certain points. I hope that’s not the case for a long, long time.”

He didn’t grow up swimming. However, Jenkins swam as part of his hip rehab, one of myriad injuries he’s suffered since the Twins drafted him. Now, he swims with his wife, Lexi, who is training for an Ironman triathlon.

Jenkins and the Twins hope he can stay healthy enough to become a franchise player. Following their fire sale last year, Minnesota is banking on pitching and young hitters to carry them this season. Jenkins and Lewis are a big part of that puzzle.

Walker Jenkins may want to bash his way into the majors. However, he has to stay healthy enough to take advantage of his improved bat speed. It all starts with how he prepares himself this spring.