Fort Myers, Florida. MLB’s inaugural Spring Breakout promised to highlight the sport’s greatest and brightest prospects, the stars of tomorrow. While nearly all of the Twins’ best prospects will be on show on Saturday afternoon, one key player will be absent.
Walker Jenkins, the Twins’ No. 5 pick in last year’s draft and MLB Pipeline’s 10th-ranked prospect overall, will not play due to a left quad strain, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced Thursday.
“When you have a muscle strain, you want to make sure you get it out. So, as long it takes him to get that knocked out and in a better position, he can still participate in a variety of activities,” Falvey said. “We just don’t want him to push the running at full tilt, which he would naturally do if he was playing in a game.”
Jenkins will still travel to the major leagues and sit in the dugout with his teammates; however, he will not play in the game against the Tampa Bay Rays’ best prospects on Saturday at 3:05 CDT.
While the game will no longer feature Jenkins, who hit.362 with a.989 OPS across two levels after making his pro debut last summer, the quad strain is not considered a significant ailment. Falvey hopes to be ready to start the season on time.
The Twins’ first aim is to prepare Jenkins for his first full season of professional baseball.
“I’m sure he’s going to be itching and champing to figure out how he could play,” he said. “Walker enjoys playing, even if it’s a backfield game at 9 p.m. and no one is watching.” This youngster wants to work; now we just need to get him scheduled for the season.”
Farmer gives back.
Kyle Farmer grew up tossing eggs in Georgia — “I had to go into the chicken coop to get them,” he recalled — so as long as he’s a Twins player, he intends to win the team’s annual spring training egg toss competition.
That may be acceptable to his teammates provided he continues to provide them with tacos.
Farmer, who won the team competition with Royce Lewis last month, catered a taco truck for his teammates on Thursday, inspired by his former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Adrián González. Around lunchtime, the vehicle was sitting in the players’ parking area, attracting a steady stream of visitors.
“I thought it’d be cool to give back,” Farmer remarked. “Then I found out that (manager) Rocco (Baldelli) had donated the winnings to me and Royce, so it was kind of like Rocco paid for the tacos.”
In reality, the taco truck cost more than Farmer’s winnings, so he contributed some extra money to pay the difference, which he expressed satisfaction with. Farmer ordered two steak and two chicken tacos street style, and he stated his teammates liked the idea.
The infielder already has a plan for next year’s prize money.
“Maybe some soft serve ice cream,” that’s what he said.
Twins Pass on Sale
The Twins announced Thursday that the Twins Pass, a ticket package that permits fans to attend all home games except the opener, is officially on sale.
From now until April 3, the pass is available for the lowest monthly pricing of $59. From April 4 to May 2, the price for ballpark entry will rise to $69 for the remaining five months of the season. On May 3, the monthly charge increases to $79 for June through September.
The Twins are also providing a $324 one-time payment option, saving fans who purchase season tickets $30. While the Twins pass just grants access to Target Field and not a seat, fans can upgrade to tickets for specific games.
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