Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at top Twins prospect Walker Jenkins. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Walker Jenkins may be baseball¡¯s top overall prospect early next season. And the Twins have a ping-pong ball to thank for his place in the organization.

Jenkins, currently MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 2 overall prospect, played at four different levels in his first full season, starting in Rookie ball and finishing with Double-A Wichita. A hamstring injury limited him to 82 total games in which he batted .282 with an .833 OPS, 32 extra-base hits, 58 RBIs and more walks (56) than strikeouts (47).

The hulking 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder was drafted by the Twins with the No. 5 overall pick in 2023 -- the first year in which the Draft order was determined by lottery. Minnesota had the 13th-best odds (0.9 percent) to land the top overall pick and a less than 2 percent chance at a top-six pick. But a good bounce got them a shot at Jenkins, the nation¡¯s top-ranked prep prospect.

MLB Pipeline listed Jenkins as the ninth-best pure hitter and the No. 8 power hitter in the Minors earlier this year. Scouts are impressed with his bat speed and ability to hit to all fields with power. He¡¯ll continue to develop his in-game power, but his bat-to-ball skills are already impressive, especially for a player his age.

Defensively, he¡¯s played all but three games as a pro in center field, where his speed and instincts have helped his range. He may slow down a bit as he matures, gets stronger and starts to fit the prototype of a slugging right fielder, especially with his 60-grade arm strength.

¡°He¡¯s a five-tool player,¡± Twins vice president of amateur scouting Sean Johnson told MLB.com after the Draft last July. ¡°We love his swing. We think he¡¯s going to have a chance for real power. He¡¯s a big kid but he moves pretty well, so he can really throw, and we think he can really defend, so you can¡¯t ask for much more than that when you¡¯re looking for a high school prospect.¡±

The native of Wilmington, North Carolina, was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year in his final two seasons at South Brunswick High School. Jenkins was also a Division I talent as a swimmer, a sport he first got into as a freshman while recovering from a procedure to fix a hip impingement.

But his future was clearly on the diamond, where he produced a .388/.520/1.150 career slash line in high school.

He missed some time during his Draft year with a hamate injury, but still batted .480 with 32 runs scored. MLB Pipeline ranked Jenkins as the No. 4 overall prospect in a stacked class that had five legitimate candidates to go No. 1 overall.

Minnesota scouted Jenkins extensively -- with an assist from former Twins outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who coached Jenkins with the USA Baseball 18U National Team in 2021. When the lottery worked in their favor, the Twins jumped at the opportunity and eventually signed him away from his University of North Carolina commitment for an above-slot bonus of $7,144,200.

After signing, Jenkins tore apart the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and forced a late promotion to Single-A Fort Myers, where he got even better. In 26 total games, Jenkins batted .362 with a .988 OPS, 12 extra-base hits, including three homers, and 22 RBIs.

He participated in camps at the Twins¡¯ facility throughout the offseason but was bothered again by injury during Spring Training -- this time suffering a quad strain that kept him out of the club¡¯s Spring Breakout game.

Jenkins was able to return to Fort Myers for Opening Day but exited with a left hamstring strain in the second inning after running into the outfield wall. He returned for a rehab stint in the FCL and was back with the Mighty Mussels by June.

• Subscribe to the MLB Pipeline Newsletter

In 32 games with Fort Myers, not including the season opener, Jenkins batted .275 with an .823 OPS, 10 extra-base hits and 33 RBIs. He also drew 28 walks and struck out just 17 times.

Jenkins was promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids in July and got better as the year progressed, finishing with a .290/.382/.481 slash line and 17 extra-base hits in 34 contests. He was promoted again to Wichita for the final week of the Double-A regular season. Jenkins went hitless in his first 12 at-bats before reaching base six times in the final three contests.

The Twins have earned a good track record for developing hitters, as evidenced by their mostly homegrown core at the Major League level. Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, the No. 29 overall prospect, and utilityman Luke Keaschall (No. 63) can follow the recently graduated Brooks Lee to Minnesota as soon as next season. And Jenkins, who won¡¯t turn 20 until February, shouldn¡¯t be too far behind -- especially if he's able to put together a fully healthy season in 2025.