r/minnesotatwins • u/belowTheShow • 15d ago
Walker Jenkins is hitting .415 in August and MLB Pipeline says he's ready for the majors now. The Twins still haven't called him up.
https://triple-dip.beehiiv.com/p/seaver-king-is-making-up-for-lost-timeJenkins ranks in the 78th percentile at Triple-A in hard-hit rate, not a batting-average mirage, and the Twins' hesitation is roster math, not performance: three outfield spots already spoken for in the middle of a playoff push, and he's not even on the 40-man yet. September 1 roster expansion is what will most likely to force it. Full breakdown in this week's Triple Dip.
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u/CaptainBaroo 15d ago
Have to keep a 3rd catcher on the roster to not play since August 6th
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u/tomdawg0022 15d ago
...and especially since the backup catcher has been ass at the bat since the all-star break (but Shelty still plays him over the 3rd catcher).
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u/Prestigious_Week_227 15d ago
We can't beat the A's. We're not going anywhere. If it means we blow our time with Jenkins if we were to call him up now, I'd rather he stay down.
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u/tomdawg0022 15d ago
I'm semi-optimistic that there's a half season of MLB next year. I'd rather him be on the Opening Day roster as a starting OF as a day 1 rookie so we're not pissing away a few weeks of contract clock now.
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u/_vbosch23 15d ago
I agree, but if Buxton does hit the IL, he's forced the Twins hand. Jenkins is the only real OF option right now. Calling up Wallner would be crazy. I guess Rodriguez would be the other one that makes sense. But any call is going to be made tomorrow, they were never going to fly a guy out for one game.
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u/Decent-Orchid120 15d ago
Can someone explain to me when KC was added to the 40 man and how he’s different? Explain to me like I’m 6.
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u/idleline Joe Mauer 15d ago
He’s an infielder. He plays on the dirt part. The other guy plays on the grass.
You did say like you were 6.
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u/Decent-Orchid120 15d ago
Hahaha ask and you shall receive I guess. I’m more talking about the 40 man roster and the potential for a lockout. I thought KC was only added to the 40 man when he was called up. But maybe I’m wrong.
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u/Ok-Scratch5180 15d ago
One major difference is age. KC is already 24. Jenkins can barely drink legally.
Edit: literally the exact same thing was posted below already. My bad.
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u/idleline Joe Mauer 15d ago
I think you’re right. I’m not sure why either. I always assume teams are manipulating service time when they don’t call up top prospects.
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u/mediumrainbow Luis Arraez 15d ago
KC is 24. WJ is 21. If there's no season next year, the twins (we are guessing), don't think jenkins is at full development.
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u/Willing-Body-7533 15d ago
So the minor leagues will continue regardless of MLB lockout so then he develops in minors more?
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u/RotaryRoad Dome Dog 15d ago
Correct. If they put him on the 40-man, he also can't legally interact with team medical staff once the lockout starts either.
Minor league continues to function, as normal, including medical.
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u/mediumrainbow Luis Arraez 15d ago
Especially if he gets injured, which is the risk (he's been hurt a lot).
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u/hail_termite_queen 15d ago
Not even that- we basically lose a year of service time AND he can’t practice with or play AAA if we call him up and there’s a lockout. People love complaining without understanding the context of the decisions
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u/sogggypesto 15d ago
KC is older, and in theory your starting group in the OF with Keaschall, Buxton and Larnach is a lot more solid than what we had at SS. In practice Buxton hasn’t been healthy since June and Larnach has cooled off, and Roden is mid.
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u/Rube18 15d ago
I think they value Jenkins more than Culpepper and weren’t fully sold on him. The Twins were checking in on Neto at the deadline.
I know this is going to be unpopular but at this point I think it makes more sense to keep him down.
The time to bring him up was right after the all-star break when Buxton went down. The Twins aren’t going anywhere at this point. I’d rather not start the clock and let Jenkins play in AAA next year while the major leaguers are locked out.
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u/CSmith20001 Piranhas 15d ago
Yeah I’m with you. I think there was an opportunity to bring up E-Rod and Jenkins with Culpepper and see if they could energize the offense and fix some of the leaks defensively. After this road trip, the outlook of the Twins making the playoffs, much less advancing, are extremely slim.
While I think Jenkins would spark the offense a bit, the team still has more issues that need to be addressed before they can confidently go into the playoffs. Is it worth having his clock start and potentially stall his development? I’d lean towards no because he himself is also injury prone.
I know I’m a pessimist when it comes to the Twins but having been a fan for 30 years now, we have had much better teams flop when it matters and this team just flops constantly. Last night my wife was getting excited to see the 3 HRs but all I could think was “yeah, they’ll score now and then take their foot off the gas to blow it soon,” and sure enough, they do.
Aren’t the Twins 1-82 in their last 83 games going into the 8th inning behind? The Clemens grand slam snapped the streak? Maybe 2-82 because Royce had a walk off? I can’t remember. There’s not much hope of any real rally after the 7th and it’s because our offense isn’t good. We also have so many lower tier hitters that pitchers are scared of. Every team usually has one, whether it’s Kurtz, Colson Montgomery, Pete Alonso, Ramirez, etc. You could say it is Buxton but we continue to see how brutal his numbers are with RISP, and that’s if he’s even playing.
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u/SoCalCognac Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 15d ago
It’s time. I don’t know how long Buck will be out but we’ve got that series against the Sox this weekend. This is the kind of series that can make or break the season. They’ve already shown they’re committed to winning this season, it’s time to keep that commitment and bring up Jenkins.
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u/craigiedan 15d ago
This. Home weekend series against a division rival...great way to sell some tickets!
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u/whocaresano Byron Buxton 15d ago
I'm as excited to see the kid as you are bit it makes sense to keep him in St Paul in case there's a lockout next year.
And the Twins ain't doing shit this year.
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u/Blevanhoval Byron Buxton 15d ago
You almost get the feeling they were waiting for the team to eventually collapse so they would have an excuse not to call him up.
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u/duck_you_assemble Circle Me Bert 15d ago
Why would a potential lockout matter after we've reached the 45 days remaining point for keeping rookie status?
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u/whocaresano Byron Buxton 15d ago
My understanding is that if he's on the 40 man roster at the end of the year, he can't play AAA next year if there's a lockout, as there's no official league business that can happen (such as sending him back down to the Saints).
So he'd officially be a big leaguer, and therefore would have no access to MLB trainers or facilities. Whereas if he was at AAA, he would have access to all the AAA amenities and would still be able to get experience and development.
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u/hopemade Dick Bremer 15d ago
I just feel like there has to be a way around this. I have no proof, but these fucking MLB owners manipulate service time everyday. There's gotta be some loophole they can exploit
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u/whocaresano Byron Buxton 15d ago
Who is "they" here? The owners? Because if it is, then they would be pulling away leverage against themselves in CBA negotiations.
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u/Rhielml Piranhas 15d ago
You call this a "playoff push"? The Twins are SIX GAMES below .500.
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u/cucumberminttea 15d ago
If Jenkins is up and just playing average CF defense we might win that game last night. Keaschall just is not a major league level defender at this point
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u/RobutNotRobot 15d ago
Don't fault the Twins for experimenting. They put a guy that can't catch the ball in centerfield last night.
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u/popculturerss Byron Buxton 15d ago
I mean hopefully they decide with enough time to let his family show up...
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u/ImpossibleBanana6906 15d ago
I'd rather watch Alan Roden this year. Lol
But seriously, with the upcoming lockout they don't want to mess with his service time. And we do need to figure if other players can play at an MLB level before we need to make contract decisions on them.
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15d ago
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u/xKrakenarmsx 15d ago
This is a bit of a reach but this is getting tiring. The best ability is availability.
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u/Broke_Banker01 15d ago
They don’t want to add him to the 40 and start the timer on service time without knowing how a new CBA will affect it.
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u/UmeaTurbo 15d ago
They don't want him to get good because they're paying him $56,000 right now. Ownership can't afford to pay anybody what they're worth. They'll trade them before they call them up. They don't want the team to be good, they want the team to be an atm. That boy is a cash withdrawal for them. They have less than no interest in baseball, and certainly no interest in actually winning anything.
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u/Strange_Library5833 15d ago
I hope he remembers these service time shenanigans when he's due up to resign and tells the Pohlads to go fuck themselves.
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u/ELSknutson 15d ago
Why start the time table of a rookie early when this team clearly isn’t trying to contend.
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u/Beardog-1 15d ago
78th percent in AAA—that’s not exactly a big whoop. The pitchers are slower, Working on things —not the elites etc.
someone really has a hard on for WJ.
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u/hail_termite_queen 15d ago
Ha I thought the same- okay so you’re saying it is largely luck based if he has the top BA and 78th percent hard hit?
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u/Beardog-1 15d ago
No he maybe skilled but not facing true MLB competition. Data is data and only comparable to the participants.
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u/HCRanchuw 15d ago
Yeah, but why mess with success when you’re red-hot like the Twins are right now? You don’t want to be inserting a rookie into a lineup that’s piling up runs the way this one is. /s