Tag: Walker Jenkins

Twins minor league players of the week are Marco Raya & Walker Jenkins

Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Marco Raya and Double-A Wichita outfielder Walker Jenkins Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Marco Raya

Raya, 22, made the start for the Saints on Thursday at Toledo, allowing two runs on two hits in 6 innings pitched, with two walks and six strikeouts. The club’s 14th-ranked prospect (6th pitcher) was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of United South High School in Laredo, Texas.

Walker Jenkins

Jenkins, 20, played in five games for the Wind Surge, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI, three walks and a 1.359 OPS…the club’s top prospect was selected by the Twins fifth overall in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of South Brunswick HS in Southport, North Carolina.

By the way, stop by MLB Pipeline and check out the Twins updated list of prospects after the Twins big fire sale on July 31.

Twins Minor League Report, 7-31-2025.PDF

Twins draft history

A Decade of First-Round Picks: Minnesota Twins (2015–2024)

From high-school phenoms to polished college bats, Minnesota’s first-round haul over the last ten years has been a roller-coaster of hopes, breakthroughs and what-ifs. The Derek Falvey regime took over in 2017. Here’s the year-by-year rundown:

2015 – Tyler Jay, LHP (Illinois, College) MLB Debut: 2024 (with the New York Mets) Status: Never threw a Major-League inning for Minnesota; debuted after release.

2016 – Alex Kirilloff, OF (Plum High School, PA) MLB Debut: 2021 Status: Retired in October 2024 due to chronic injuries; slashed .248/.327/.412 in 249 games.

2017 – Royce Lewis, SS (JSerra Catholic High School, CA) MLB Debut: 2022 Status: Core infielder and rising star—30+ homers in his first 150 games. That said, injuries have limited him to 188 games over four seasons.

2018 – Trevor Larnach, OF (Oregon State, College) MLB Debut: 2021 Status: Regular role player in the corner outfield; average-defense and a developing bat.

2019 – Keoni Cavaco, SS (Eastlake High School, CA) MLB Debut: — Status: Converted to pitcher in the Minors, released in 2024 without reaching Double-A.

2020 – Aaron Sabato, 1B (University of North Carolina, College) MLB Debut: — Status: Struggling in the Minors (.199 average in ’24); reached AAA St. Paul in 2025. Free-agent candidate.

2021 – Chase Petty, RHP (Mainland Regional High School, NJ) MLB Debut: — Status: Traded to Cincinnati in 2022; pitching in Double-A.

2022 – Brooks Lee, SS (Cal Poly, College) MLB Debut: 2024 Status: Made the Twins team out of Spring Training in 2025 but started on the IL; lauded for bat-to-ball skills and defensive polish.

2023 – Walker Jenkins, OF (South Brunswick High School, NC) MLB Debut: — Status: Top organizational prospect; has power and speed. The bad news he has been injured too frequently and the Twins bring him back slowly to protect him.

2024 – Kaelen Culpepper, SS (Kansas State, College) MLB Debut: — Status: In Double-A; praised for plate discipline and versatile glove work. Surprise of 2025 Twins minor league system?

Continue reading Twins draft history

Twins minor league players of the week are Woods-Richardson & Rodriguez

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the week for week 23.

Emmanuel Rodriguez a Santiago, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2019. Rodriguez was a top 10 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 international prospects list for 2019-20 when the signing period opened up in July of 2019. The Twins were all in, giving the toolsy outfielder $2.75 million to sign. MLB Pipeline currently has Rodriguez rated as the 48th best prospect overall and has Rodriguez as the Twins 3rd best prospect behind Walker Jenkins and Brooks Lee. You can learn more about Rodriguez here. Rodriguez has won this award three times earlier this season and he seems to be another in the long line of Twins left-handed sluggers.

Rodriguez, 20, played in four games for the Kernels, hitting .333 (3-for-9) with one triple, three RBI, six walks, a .600 on-base percentage, a .556 slugging percentage and a 1.156 OPS. On the season he is slashing .240/.400/.463. Although he does have 134 strikeouts in 455 PA’s he also has 16 home runs, 55 RBI and 20 Stolen bases.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Festa and Jenkins

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher David Festa and Low-A Fort Myers outfielder Walker Jenkins have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week 22.

David Festa a New Jersey native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). Festa signed with the Twins for a $125,000 signing bonus. MLB Pipeline currently has Festa rated as the Twins 9th best prospect. Read more about Festa here. Festa is getting to be a regular here, I wonder if they will give him a late season call-up as a reward.

Festa, 23, made his Triple-A debut on Wednesday night for the Saints against Columbus, allowing one run on four hits in 5 innings pitched, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

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