Twins Name Walker Jenkins, Adrian Bohorquez Minor League Players of the Year

One of the top prospects of the Minnesota Twins, Walker Jenkins, was named Twins Minor League Player of the Year.

After a solid season that propelled him to make his MLB debut with Minnesota on August 28 last, with a 1-for-3 and a walk against the Chicago White Sox, Jenkins places himself among the main players to follow in the near future of the organization’s plans.

The 21-year-old outfielder, Minnesota’s No. 1 prospect and No. 13 in all of baseball at the time of the announcement, according to MLB.com, hit .323/.417/.559 with a .976 OPS, 14 home runs, 31 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 73 minor league games, showing his contact ability, power on the rise and speed among the different levels.

But the aspect that surprised me the most about Jenkins was his progressive work at the plate, which led him to complete a much stronger production during his second half with Triple-A St. Paul, where he achieved a .335/.413/.607 offensive line, with a 1.020 OPS, 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 44 games.

In the end, he played 19 games in his first season in the Majors, and posted a .200/.290/.400 offensive line, with three home runs, eight RBIs, one stolen base and a .690 OPS in 55 at-bats. However, in his last 10 games came the moment that was becoming most interesting to see Jenkins, as he finished with at least one hit in nine of those games and hit .385/.400/.615, with three home runs, five RBIs and a 1.015 OPS in 40 plate appearances.

Jenkins showed flashes of the impact that made him Minnesota’s top prospect, although in his brief MLB sample he went through some difficult stretches, when he went 0-for-16 in 18 plate appearances with eight strikeouts between Sept. 8-18, until he broke the streak by going 3-for-4, including a two-run home run to tie the game against the Angels on Sept. 17.

However, in his last 10 games came the moment that was becoming most interesting to see Jenkins, as he finished with at least one hit in nine of those games and hit .385/.400/.615, with three home runs, five RBI and a 1.015 OPS in 40 plate appearances.

Adrian Bohorquez's Award

Our 2026 @MiLB Player & Pitcher of the Year 🏆

Walker Jenkins
Adrian Bohorquez @Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/SaY8wCr1X2
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) October 1, 2026

There was a key point that marked Bohorquez’s story in 2026, and it was his strength to overcome injuries and the challenge of having to return to the mound. For a young player, amid his effort to make an impact in the Minors and reach the Major Leagues, injuries can often be a greater impediment to overcome than struggling or making adjustments to jump to a new level.

His four-seam fastball (take it with a grain of salt because he has only thrown 10 in 2026) generated a high percentage of swings and misses compared to other pitchers in the league, averaging 95.2 mph, with the advantage that it has some natural sinking action and slight arm-side run. Opponents hit just .222 against it, but the best part comes when we analyze his secondary pitches, as opponents averaged less than .300 slugging against each of them.

His changeup is very strong, and it tends to drop out of the zone, resulting in a somewhat higher rate compared to the league, and the slider continues improving its break, generating a 39% swings-and-misses rate. The curveball, at a lower rate of usage, generated 44% swings and misses and already became the pitch that opponents hit the least, leaving opponents at all levels of the Minor Leagues with just .063 and .094 slugging.

So, when it seemed that he would not be able to return, Bohorquez came back more dominant, to the point of posting a 2.35 ERA in nine games with High-A Cedar Rapids. That was the prelude to his recovery, before finishing the season with Double-A Wichita, where he extended his dominance to finish with a 1.06 ERA and a low .148 opponent batting average in four starts.

In his fight to overcome adversity, Bohorquez is the No. 18 prospect of the Twins and fifth-best pitcher in the organization, according to MLB.com’s ranking, and the key to his year was undoubtedly that end to the season that earned him the Pitcher of the Week award in consecutive weeks.

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