Introduction

Walker Jenkins, a left-handed high school outfielder from North Carolina has made himself into one of the 2023 MLB Draft’s top prospects. Jenkins has gained high praise from scouts all around the country, with some calling him the best high school prospect in the draft. Jenkins has also received high praise when it comes to awards, as he was named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022, along with many other achievements. Jenkins has been ranked as high as the top 5 selections in the 2023 draft, some scouts even having him within the top 3. But what has Jenkins gone through to get to this point? What are some of his favorite memories? We’ll take a deep dive into Jenkins’ and his career below, as we talk to him about all things baseball.

Walker’s Tools

Walker possesses many strong talents, but many scouts consider his overall hit tool to be by far the best, specifically his power. Walker’s 6′ 3″ 205 lbs frame is built for towering home runs, which has definitely been on full display to this point. With Jenkins displaying elite power, even against great pitching, it’s very easy to see why scouts consider his hit and power tools to be the best part of his game. Walker has received grades anywhere from 55-65 on his overall hit tool, and 60-65 grades on his power abilities.

Walker tends to agree with the scouts saying his hit tool is the best part of his game. During my interview with the young outfielder, he told me, “I consider my hitting the best part of my game, but believe my defense and speed can be overlooked.” Now, it’s easy to see why his defense and speed can fly under the radar with a bat as good as any, but he is certainly no slouch on the base paths and in the outfield. Many scouts praised Walker during his games with team USA, as he was seen flying through the outfield, and fully putting his body on the line for the ball. It’s not often you find an athlete of Walker’s overall size display as much athleticism as the lefty has. A potential reason why Walker’s speed and fielding abilities may be overlooked? Walker tells me, “I feel like I am a very good athlete, and get stereotyped as slow and not as good of a defender due to my size.” But as you can see in the clip below, that is far from reality.

Big League Comparisons

Walker has gained plenty of comparisons with his play. Some names commonly brought up in these discussions are, Tigers young outfielder Riley Greene, Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, and lefty Kyle Tucker. Now, these names are all certainly high praise for the young slugger, but one name rings differently when it comes to Jenkins’ size, mechanics, and more. Jenkins tells me, “I feel like my game offensively is similar to Bryce Harper.” I would have to completely agree with Walker on this statement. Similarly to Bryce Harper, both Walker and Harper share similarities in their mechanics. From a flare of the bat before their strides, to a quick bat through the zone, it’s very easy to see why these two are often compared. As previously mentioned, Walker also possesses sneaky speed and defensive abilities, both are tools Harper also has. Below are two videos of the two sluggers at similar ages for comparison.

Overcoming Setbacks and Improving Daily

With high hopes for his 2022 summer, Walker would unfortunately sustain a hamate injury at PDP, which would require surgery. This would lead to Walker unfortunately missing a decent amount of his summer season, but he would thankfully make a return to the field just in time to compete at the Perfect Game All-American activities. When talking to Walker, I learned more about this injury, and how it affected him physically and mentally. Walker agrees that the hamate injury was the biggest test of his adversity to this point, saying, “I would say having hamate surgery had been the biggest obstacle for me to overcome. Getting hurt in the middle of the summer was tough physically and mentally.” As you can imagine, being injured during a huge potential summer season would not have been easy in the slightest, but Walker stayed resilient.

From talking with Walker, I have been able to see another strong part of his game, his mindset, attitude, and mental toughness. While this isn’t something that can be measured by numbers and statistics, Walker’s mindset through his hamate injury is certainly a telling sign. When thinking back to his hamate injury, Walker would also tell me, “I overcame it by keeping a positive attitude and working on things I could still work on like my body.” This isn’t the only example of Walker staying positive to overcome a bad situation either.

Walker manages to maintain a great work ethic as well, which is just more of an example of how good his mentality is. When I asked about his work ethic and training routines, Walker would tell me, “I hit every day. Not just going and hitting, but really working on my swing every day. I normally work on defensive stuff a couple times a week along with working out and running. Eating enough and decent food along with drinking enough water is a key part of my daily routine as well.” As you can see, Walker maintains extreme discipline and maturity when it comes to taking his training seriously, which again is something you love to see. With his discipline and his work ethic already engrained into his mind, I have no doubt this won’t continue once he reaches professional baseball.

Walker would also have his fair share of battles with tougher pitching, quoting Adam Hachman as the toughest pitcher he ever had to face. When asked about this, Walker said, “I would say that Adam Hachman was the toughest pitcher I’ve had to face. He had a fastball that cut instead of tailed which was a different look. That made him difficult to hit off of.” But, with Walker’s work ethic and strong, disciplined mindset, these struggles should be temporary, and will only get better with time.

Gaining Attention

Walker finally began receiving attention for his strong play during his freshman season. When asked more about the start of receiving attention, Walker would go on to say, “I would say freshman year is when I began to get attention from different people like colleges and scouts. My life didn’t change a whole lot, but the whole thought of playing baseball for the rest of my life seemed like much more of a possibility after that year.”

As you can also imagine, the attention can surely get stressful. Especially when it starts becoming more about the 2023 MLB Draft. How did Walker handle this pressure at times? His faith guided him through it all. While talking to Walker, he mentioned to me that prayer was the main stress reliever for him. Walker said, “It can be overwhelming at times. I believe in God, so one of the best ways for me to deal with it is to pray and talk to the lord about my struggles.” This is just another example of his incredible mental resilience, which will be very valuable when he makes the jump to professional baseball, or to the D1 level.

Looking Ahead and Reflecting Back

Looking ahead to 2023, Walker is already prepared to make his dreams and goals a reality. When asked about his goals for the 2023 season, Walker would tell me, “Some goals I have for this year include getting better everyday in every aspect of my game, and being the best person I can be on and off the ball field.” As you can see, Walker is fully committed to improving himself on and off the field, which is a skill that demonstrates incredible maturity from the young phenom.

As for Walker’s career, if he elects not to go the professional route this upcoming summer, Walker is currently committed to UNC. A prospect of his caliber had plenty of schools knocking on his door, but in the end it was his dream school that was most attractive to him. Walker said, “North Carolina had always been my dream school since I was little. I grew up somewhat around there and was familiar with the area. The main selling point were the coaches. I felt like they were not only great coaches, but great people.” So, it’s safe to say that if professional baseball isn’t right for the young star just yet, he’s certainly in good hands at UNC.

Reflecting back on your career is something that many find really important, especially as the game you played your entire life becomes a full-time job. Now, what exactly people reflect on can vary, but Walker definitely has his moments locked down. When asked about this, Walker would tell me, “Favorite baseball experience was the state championship with my highschool along with the summer circuit.“ State championships are obviously once in a lifetime opportunities, so it’s very each to see where this comes into play for the young slugger. But I’m sure many more bright memories are in store for the future star as his career continues on.

Final Thoughts

Going into this discussion with Walker, he was already one of my personal favorite prospects for this year’s upcoming draft. From his towering home runs, to his defensive gems, there’s nothing to not love about Jenkins. But, through this chat with Walker, my respect has grown unimaginably. Not only is he a great player on the field with valuable tools, but he’s also one of the most mentally mature, and humble players I’ve ever met. I fully expect Walker to be a top 6 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft this summer, but we will have to wait and watch closely as to where exactly he will be heading. As for Walker, one final thing he wants people to know is, “I would say whether I go to college or get drafted, one thing I want people to know about me is that I am going to give it my all each and every game.” Now I don’t know about you guys, but that is definitely someone I would love to have on my team without a doubt.