{"id":602413,"date":"2026-03-02T22:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602413\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T22:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:33:18","slug":"walker-jenkins-hamstring-strain-shouldnt-delay-his-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/602413\/","title":{"rendered":"Walker Jenkins’ Hamstring Strain Shouldn’t Delay His Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported<\/a>\u00a0that a recent MRI revealed that Minnesota Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins<\/a> had a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Jenkins joins a list of recently<\/a>\u2013injured<\/a> Twins players, including Pablo L\u00f3pez<\/a>, Joe Ryan<\/a>, and David Festa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The good news in all of this is that a Grade 1 strain only takes approximately a week<\/a> to recover from, at most two. The bad news, though, is that Minnesota\u2019s top prospect is battling some type of injury for the third spring in a row.<\/p>\n

Last year, Jenkins was slow to start in camp with a nagging ankle injury. Two years ago, he suffered a hamstring strain on his left leg during the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels season opener and missed a month and a half of games.<\/p>\n

No matter how much work Twins prospects put in to keep themselves on and off the field, few have a clean runway that allows them to reach the majors injury-free. Joe Mauer<\/a>, Byron Buxton<\/a>, and Royce Lewis<\/a> experience injury setbacks on their way to the majors.<\/p>\n

While the hamstring strain will be Jenkins\u2019 focus over the next week or two, his swing caught everyone\u2019s attention before camp.<\/p>\n

Nearly two weeks ago, Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper<\/a>, Emmanuel Rodriguez<\/a>, and a few other Twins prospects were taking batting practice off Justin Morneau<\/a>. Despite taking BP from a former MVP and hitting with some of Minnesota\u2019s best prospects, Jenkins captivated people\u2019s attention with his Mauer-like swing.<\/p>\n

Walker Jenkins BP pic.twitter.com\/AvLeA8yasN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Theodore Tollefson (@TheodoreTollef1) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Anyone could see the striking similarity Jenkins has to Mauer\u2019s swing on the follow-through. Jenkins turned 21 in camp two weeks ago, almost exactly the same age Mauer made his MLB debut back in 2004 (Mauer turned 21 two weeks after his debut).<\/p>\n

Many of Minnesota\u2019s prospects carry the weight of expectations this season, but none more so than Jenkins. Last year, he was the youngest player in the International League, finishing the 2025 season in Triple-A at just 20 years old.<\/p>\n

With that came some struggles. Jenkins was 7.3 years younger than the average pitcher\u2019s age; he only hit .242\/.324\/.396 with an 8.8% walk rate and a 25.5% strikeout rate. There were some glimpses of power after the first week of adjusting to the new level. Jenkins tallied eight extra-base hits in just 18 games, but he\u2019s looking at his opportunity to start the season at Triple-A this year as a clean slate, leaving the learning experience behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnd of the year and you\u2019re just not playing as well, and it\u2019s part of the game,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cSo it\u2019s learning from it and move on. Just get better at all of it. Get better and play hard, and find success to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins worked out with Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers<\/a> near their homes in Wilmington, N.C., for the second straight offseason. In addition to the veteran help in the off-season, Jenkins has been working closely with Byron Buxton in center field and outfield coach Grady Sizemore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buxton and Sizemore are two of the best center fielders in the game during the last 25 years. They are valuable resources Jenkins can lean on in his first big-league camp, which is a tremendous benefit for what\u2019s to come this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been asking Grady a decent amount of questions and just kind of watching how Buxton goes about his game, and his business,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cSo it\u2019s kind of been sitting back and learning this first week or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cByron and a couple of these other guys have already done a great job stepping up as leaders and the way they go about their work,\u201d said Sizemore. \u201cThe young guys next to them, showing them just how to prepare, how to do their job the right way. I think that helps, makes my job easier. So I\u2019m excited about the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mauer\u2019s swing back in the day may have been a bit of a negative for Sizemore on the field. However, seeing its similarities in Jenkins gives him hope that he, Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez<\/a>, and Kala\u2019i Rosario<\/a> could do for Minnesota\u2019s outfield this season or next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have a lot of young, talented guys that are right there on the cusp,\u201d Sizemore said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be fun as we transition to watch their development and how these guys feed off each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another injury, which would set Jenkins back a week or two, is far from ideal for Minnesota\u2019s minor-league depth. However, a Grade 1 hamstring strain at the end of February is better timing than some point in the season when a player is already in their daily gameday routine.<\/p>\n

Once that hamstring is feeling better, Twins fans can walk down memory lane at Hammond Stadium when Jenkins is at the plate and see for themselves how similar his swing is to Minnesota\u2019s newest member to the Baseball Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sure hope so,\u201d Jenkins said on his swing\u2019s similarity to Mauer. \u201cIf I get that kind of praise, I\u2019ll definitely take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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