North Carolina OF commit Walker Jenkins selected by Minnesota Twins in 2023 MLB Draft

North Carolina outfielder commit Walker Jenkins has heard his name called in the 2023 MLB Draft. The Minnesota Twins selected him with the No. 5 overall pick.

Jenkins starred at South Brunswick (NC) and won the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons. This past year, he hit .417, scored 33 runs and had a .633 slugging percentage. He was also walked in 32 of his 95 plate appearances as a senior, which helped take his on base percentage to .632.

Jenkins committed to North Carolina as a junior and signed his National Letter of Intent this past school year. Now, one of the top high school prospects on the board has officially heard his name called.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.

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