Neil Jenkins

James Neil Jenkins

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 205 lb.
• High School William T. Dwyer High School

• Born July 17, 1980 in Chattanooga, TN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Third baseman/outfielder Neil Jenkins played in the Detroit Tigers system from 1999 to 2004, peaking at Double-A. He was taken by the club in the 3rd round of the 1999 amateur draft, between infielder Josh Wilson and pitcher Rich Rundles and ahead of future MVP Justin Morneau. He was signed by scout Tim Grieve.

Though he hit .297/.395/.523 with 2 homers and 15 RBI in 33 games for the GCL Tigers his first season, that success was short-lived as he was a .250s hitter the next year and a .240s hitter by 2002. He had some pop, swatting a career-high 14 homers for the Lakeland Tigers in 2003. With Lakeland he became a regular face, playing 204 of his 410 career games and about 3.5 of his 6 seasons with them. He was strikeout-prone, with 151 Ks in 411 at-bats for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2000 and 150 whiffs in 321 ABs for Lakeland in 2003. In 2003, he was second in the Florida State League in strikeouts, behind Ryan Howard's 151.

Going into 2000, Baseball America ranked him the club's #4 prospect, between Robert Fick and Brandon Inge. He was the only one of that year's top-ten to not eventually make the majors.

Overall, Jenkins hit .245/.294/.418 with 50 homers, 215 RBI, 101 walks and 579 strikeouts in 410 games.