The center fielder has reached base in 40 of 43 games since returning from injury, and Byron Buxton’s latest setback could create a path for the 21-year-old to get the call.

Walker Jenkins on the basepaths Tuesday night, August 25, 2026, in St. Paul. (Photo/Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Bobby Nightengale | The Minnesota Star Tribune

Walker Jenkins, the Twins’ top-rated prospect, took social media apps off his phone, but he’ll occasionally receive text messages from his mom and an uncle about what Twins fans are saying about him.

“I’m like, ‘All right, guys, I don’t need to see this right now,’” Jenkins said with a laugh. “I’m just trying to play ball. I try to stay off it.”

There has been a lot of chatter about Jenkins and when the Twins might call him up from the Class AAA St. Paul Saints. It might depend on Byron Buxton’s status after Buxton exited the Twins’ road loss to the Athletics on Tuesday night because of an injury.

Jenkins, a 21-year-old center fielder, has loudly put himself on the big-league radar with how well he’s hitting.

Since returning from a shoulder strain in mid-June, he has reached base in 40 of 43 games at Class AAA St. Paul. In August, the lefthanded-hitting Jenkins turned a hot streak into a full-blown blaze. He entered Wednesday with a .406 batting average, seven homers, 12 RBI, 15 runs and a 1.256 OPS over his past 17 games.

Sure, there are moments when Jenkins thinks about receiving the call to the majors. That’s a lifelong dream. But he doesn’t want that to become a distraction.

“It’s out of my control,” Jenkins said Tuesday from CHS Field, a short drive from Target Field. “I’m going to go compete and work hard wherever I’m at, try to win. It’s so much fun when you’re on a winning team that is playing well with you. I’m having a lot of fun right now.”

Jenkins has begun to tap into more power with his swing. He has compiled three multi-homer games across the last three weeks. This is a guy who hit 10 homers in 84 games last year, and he has seven this month alone.

Listed at 6-3, 210 pounds, hitting for power was the one thing missing in his scouting report. He’s an excellent contact hitter with a swing that looks mechanically similar to Joe Mauer. He credited St. Paul’s hitting coaches for bringing up optimizing the way his body moves.

“It’s just elevating the ball some,” said Jenkins, who has totaled 43 walks and 49 strikeouts in 320 plate appearances this season. “I think once I came back from injury and I was able to clean that up, it really helped with impacting the ball for more power.”

Now that Jenkins is hitting for more power — well, hitting everything in general — he has drawn attention from the fanbase as a potential callup to provide energy for the Twins’ playoff push. His lack of a promotion has even fueled a conspiracy theory that it’s related to keeping him off the 40-man roster so he can continue to play in the minors during an expected owners-initiated lockout next year.