What if Matt Wallner is Just That Good?

[saviking]

23 hours ago, Trov said:

If he is what he did last year, then he will be good but not great. Most likely eventually looking to settle into DH roll.  He has great arm in the OF, but not good range overall. He will need to learn to hit some against lefties, else he will be only a platoon guy as he was auto out against lefties. His OBP was .196 against lefties, 

He crushed righties, and if he can continue to do that, then those are MVP type numbers against them, so if he can even be average against lefties he will be huge for us. 

Lefties are perfect to platoon because young up against eighties 75% or more of the time or more. Right handed batters are the platoon guys unless they can hit right handed pitchures reasonably well. 

[PaulC]

Consider for a moment the defensive capabilities of Giancarlo Stanton. Nuff said. Wallner will be just fine, and possibly a rock star.

 

[Fatbat]

4 hours ago, Patzky said:

Anyone else alarmed by the horrible spring he is having at the plate this far? Not a peep..

Not worried one bit. He is 26 yo and still refining his craft. 8-10 more years of prime time crushing at the plate and OF assists.  Fans need to get used to having nice things in MN. 

[JD-TWINS]

13 hours ago, High heat said:

Wallner might be that good.  He looks to have a plan at the plate and listening to him talk he seems very self aware and aware of how pitchers want to attack him.  
 

Depending on Buxton health atleast early in the year Wallner will likely face RHP 90+ percent of the time and get pinch hit and run for late in games with Margot and spell by him against LH SP. 

 

As far as Wallners defense have I seen something different?  I thought he looked ok in LF especially not playing there much.  An offseason to prepare and ST to get used to LF I think he will be decent.  
 

A healthy season at the pace he played last year puts him close to a 40HR guy from the bottom of the order.   WOW!!

Yep, he’s our #7 batter coming off a year with a .380 OBP and a bunch of power……..Jeffers in the #8 spot to help protect him……..I think we’ll score some runs in ‘24!

[RpR]

4 hours ago, Patzky said:

Anyone else alarmed by the horrible spring he is having at the plate this far? Not a peep..

Not alarmed, expected, he may be Gallo the Second, but as of now Left Field is his.

[bean5302]

6 hours ago, Patzky said:

Anyone else alarmed by the horrible spring he is having at the plate this far? Not a peep..

It's not horrible. He's had 16 plate appearances. 12.5% BB rate and an extra base hit.

[jkcarew]

High ceiling, due to the immense power. Relatively low floor, as he doesn’t seem to offer much value other than the power. Some, but not much.

Absolutely too early to tell. Still in the acclimation period where pitchers will make adjustments against him...and he against them, etc.

The power is no joke. Probably comes down to ability to manage the K rate. We’ll see.

[cmoss84]

I mentioned this comp a while back when he was in the minors...but I see alot of Carlos Pena in his offensive game. Pena hit .230 with nearly 300 HR...

[KBJ1]

Projected 234 BA? Call me old school, but if your BA is 250, you better be hitting 40+ HR.

Where are the 30- 30- 30 guys who hit 300  these days?

That would be something worth talking  about!

[RpR]

On 3/9/2024 at 6:32 AM, Patzky said:

Anyone else alarmed by the horrible spring he is having at the plate this far? Not a peep..

March 15, 2024

Fifty percent strike out rate.   A 2023 Gallo without the fielding skills.