We Should Appreciate Matt Wallner for the World-Class Hitter He Is

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

I'm not sure what it is about Matt Wallner that leads to him not being fully appreciated by Twins fans for what he is. You would think that this status as a hometown product — Forest Lake native, former Mr. Baseball Minnesota turned first-round draft pick — would help his case. Instead the opposite dynamic could be at play, with the self-effacing insecurity of us Midwesterners (I say it lovingly) causing us to reflexively downgrade "one of us." Certainly Joe Mauer seemed to experience this effect.

There is also the style of play that Wallner brings to the table. He swings and misses a ton. He strikes out in bunches. He's not going to post high batting averages and he's not going to necessarily make things happen with his legs. But production in baseball isn't about hits or stolen bases, not directly anyway. It's about getting on base and hitting for power. In these areas, Wallner excels like few others.

Through 191 major-league games and 661 plate appearances, a little over one full season's worth of action, Wallner has slashed .253/.368/.503 with 32 home runs, 36 doubles, 94 RBIs and 69 walks. That is All-Star caliber offensive performance bordering on MVP level. 

Don't believe me? Let's take a look at the wOBA leaderboard for all big-leaguers since Wallner first got called up. Through the lens of this sabermetric stat, which uses a run-value-based formula that reflects the actual impact of each event, Wallner's productivity at the plate is almost unrivaled. Among players who have made as many or more plate appearances since 2022, only eight have a higher wOBA and it is just about the most superstar-laden list you can imagine: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Yordan Alvarez, Freddie Freeman, Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Ronald Acuna Jr.

Among Minnesota Twins players with 600 or more career plate appearances, only two have a better career OPS than Wallner's .871: Nelson Cruz (.984) and Harmon Killebrew (.892). We're not just seeing one of the best hitters in the lineup; so far in his major-league time Wallner has been one of the best hitters in baseball and in franchise history. Which makes it all the more hard to believe, in retrospect, that he spent almost the entire first half of 2024 in Triple-A due to a 13-game slump, but, I digress.

What's important now is that, after a lengthy injury layoff, Wallner is back in the Twins lineup and making an impact as usual, with two homers already in his first four games since returning from his hamstring injury. 

If the Twins are going to make a serious push this summer, they’ll need more than just their big-name stars to lead the charge. Wallner might not often be mentioned in the same breath as Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, or Royce Lewis when fans talk about core pillars, but he absolutely belongs in that conversation. His bat is that impactful — not just a luxury, but a necessity for this offense to reach its full potential.

 

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[thelanges5]

Pride of Forest Lake. Keep raking!

[Whitey333]

I love Matt Wallner.  But let's not over do it.  Come on he needs to play more, be more consistent to be compared to some of the heavy hitters you mention.  It's absolutely ridiculous.  He us good using your small sample size.  Let's let him develop more and see.  I think he is very important to the success of the team this year.  Go Twins.

[Linus]

With many players I care about limiting strikeouts. Not with Wallner.  With his power I say swing away young man and let the balls land where they may. 

[DocBauer]

There's a lot of ways to be a productive hitter. Some like a HOF like Puckett...ONLY for example sake and NOT as a direct comparison...you had a special player who was a pretty aggressive, not patient, hitter who batted over. 300 for his career with a .360 OB% and plenty of power. He was a good enough hitter to win batting titles.

Then you have someone like Arraez who has a career .300 AVG and OB% in the .360's but very little power, and has won a couple batting titles as well. Productive in a different way.

Wallner will just never approach anything close to hitters like those in regard to AVG. But his OB% is also in the .360's, with a SLG% and OPS that is currently higher than even Puckett had for his career.

Again, just a different way to be productive.

Yes, in comparison, we're talking a SSS. Except he's been putting up those numbers for 3 years or so now. Does he have to MAINTAIN what he's doing? ABSOLUTELY. (He NEVER should have been in AAA for as long as he was in 2024)!

I think 2 things hold back some people's perspective on Wallner: A] some can't look beyond the high K numbers and still see the decent AVG, and good OB, SLG, and OPS numbers, and B] he didn't arrive as a 22yo prospect, but really as a 25yo. Of course, the slow start in 2024 and demotion after a SSSS and then being held down for WAY too long helps skew his perspective.

I think he's a wonderfully productive player who is young enough to be a major part of this lineup for another 4-5 years easily. He's not going to be a HOF player, or win any batting titles, but he's damn good. And barring injury...knock on wood...I really hope everyone starts to realize just how good he's been, and should be going forward.

[Parfigliano]

Wish they would give him AB's against LHP

[twinstalker]

A number of years ago I was ignoring him because of his high K rate, but then I started following him more closely and before he was in the majors I was convinced he was different than other players with high K rate.

I became convinced as it became clear that he struck out simply because he was trying to hit homers.  It was soon noticeable that he was adjusting when necessary to have quality ABs.  That's when I knew this man was dangerous.

[DocBauer]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

Wish they would give him AB's against LHP

They have been. Or at least were before he was injured. Then Larnach got those AB. I think it's a little fluid since he got back.

[tony&rodney]

Wallner is still not going to hit against most decent LH pitching and will get pulled when a LH relief pitcher is on the mound. This alone restricts his star tool. Hope he does well though.

He was a guy I wanted to move to Pittsburgh with Alcala and Tanner Schobel for Bubba Chandler.

[h2oface]

2 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Wish they would give him AB's against LHP

They have been. I saw a pop-up today that he was hitting over .400 against lefthanders.

I just wish he could field the position better. That fly to right he just lumbered over and gave up on was certainly catchable tonight, and resulted in the runs starting

Now under .500 since the streak, again. 8-9. Ober giving up 5 shows how important the pitching is to win games with this middling offense.

Update: Not that many at bats. Now 3-9 against lefties for the year. .333 in a very small sample size. 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 3 BBs. 5 Ks but .500 OBP. But that earns him more in my book.

[Aerodeliria]

Well, we'll never know if he keeps getting yanked it key spots like today. To me, that was a bush league move by Baldelli. You don't think Little feared Wallner?

In a sense, we wasted both Jeffers and Wallner. Granted that Jeffers got screwed by Baker for strike 3 which absolutely affected the outcome. (I suppose he wanted to get to his favorite Minneapolis bar before it got too late, and by the way, I would expect Baldelli to get tossed there defending his player.) Nevertheless, it had to be disheartening for Wallner to get pulled, especially with Vasquez's bat on the horizon....

 

PS-Jordan Baker is an argument by himself for the robot umps.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, h2oface said:

They have been. I saw a pop-up today that he was hitting over .400 against lefthanders.

I just wish he could field the position better. That fly to right he just lumbered over and gave up on was certainly catchable tonight, and resulted in the runs starting

Now under .500 since the streak, again. 8-9. Ober giving up 5 shows how important the pitching is to win games with this middling offense.

Update: Not that many at bats. Now 3-9 against lefties for the year. .333 in a very small sample size. 2 doubles, 1 homer, and 3 BBs. 5 Ks but .500 OBP. But that earns him more in my book.

So many here have said "let them play, they will improve" well Wallner's fielding skill numbers are going the other direction.

[Mark G]

Personally, I do appreciate Matt, and the fact he is from just up 35E from where I live makes it impossible not to root for him.

But, Nick, after 661 plate appearances he is one of the best hitters in franchise history?  In MN, or the franchise?  I can think of a pretty high number of hitters in our franchise history I wouldn't lump Matt in with just yet; not after 661 plate appearances, even just the time in MN alone.  And I am guessing he would be the first one to say that as well.  As much as I love the guy, and I hope he does make the HOF, get back to me sometime in the 2030's and we will toss around the numbers and the comparisons then.  In the meantime, you are right - we should appreciate what we have in Matt.   

[karcherd]

Do the Twins have faith in Wallner, it doesn't appear that they do.  After the Thursday game Rocco stated that he told Wallner that he would be in most every game and not sitting two games in a row.  Then before last night in his press scrum, Rocco said he could play but it also depends on other players on the roster.  Then he pinch hits for Wallner and not Clemens.

All players are not equal in ability and other than Correa and Buxton, Rocco treats the players as though they are all equal in ability because of matchups.  They need to identify 5 or 6 core players and they play every day regardless of who is pitching.  And if they are not good enough, make changes.

Players like Clemens, Bride, Bader, even Castro need to fight for playing time, the others need to be in the lineup.  This is what championship teams do. 

I know Castro is valuable but playing him every day wears him down as evidenced last year.  Play him 4 days a week and bring him off the bench strategically the other days is a better use of his skills. 

 

[Nashvilletwin]

Where is the disconnect?  Can Wallner be a “world class hitter” who really only plays part time and very rarely hits against left handed pitching?

Either Wallner is not a “world class” hitter or Rocco isn’t utilizing this tremendous talent correctly.  Probably both are at least partially correct.  But one thing is for sure: we will never know if Wallner could be truly be a “world class hitter” if he doesn’t play and develop by getting those crucial high leverage ABs against lefties.

[Hubie29]

World class hitter? Sure doesn't take much these days I guess.  Good for a chuckle in the morning though. 

[Jeff K]

11 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Wallner is still not going to hit against most decent LH pitching and will get pulled when a LH relief pitcher is on the mound. This alone restricts his star tool. Hope he does well though.

He was a guy I wanted to move to Pittsburgh with Alcala and Tanner Schobel for Bubba Chandler.

I think/hope you're going to get your wish with Alcala...except he goes to the DFA Team.

[NYCTK]

13 hours ago, DocBauer said:

(He NEVER should have been in AAA for as long as he was in 2024)!

This has become one of those weird things that a lot of people just now hold as truth despite what actually happened. Wallner was striking out in half of his plate appearances, fully lost at the plate. And when he was sent down he continued to stink for a full month or more in AAA. He obviously turned it around but it wasn't like the Twins kept him down there well past when it was obvious he was ready to hit in the majors again. 

He missed 3 weeks of major league playing, tops. And it's due to how terrible he himself was to open the season. Would it have been better to hope he figured it out at the major league level? I doubt that. 

Calling him a world class hitter is a bit ridiculous with fewer than 700 PAs to his name. But then again, I might say that about James Wood and he has just over 600. 

It is unfortunate that he's as bad as he is in the OF but even so, he should be playing every day. Unlike Larnach, I do think he should be trusted enough to hit against lefties. 

[AKTwinsFan]

I was hoping McCrusher was gonna be in the regular rotation. The both of them are big swing giants. Wallner could be better on the defensive end in my opinion. Like Aaron Judge he's got length and athleticism to catch fly balls. 

[D.C Twins]

If he is still doing this after another 600+ AB then yes potentially a world class hitter.... but no, not yet

[joefish]

Far from world class imo.

Sometimes good. But he has to catch the ball. I hang those 2 runs and the lead on his poor defense. Ask him. Ask Ober.

[Western SD Fan]

We trashed on Larnach because he couldn't play the outfield in Tampa.  We are trashing on Wallner because he can't play the outfield.  If you want both of their bats in the lineup, one of them HAS to play in the outfield.  I believe Wallner still grades out as the better defender, but I don't have the numbers to back it up.

I'll be the Wallner apologist for now.  Regarding his defense, I think we have been blessed to have Kepler out in RF all those years.  I hear on the telecast all the time on how tricky that RF wall can be with the limestone, the seats jutting out above the wall, and the odd angles.  This is the first year for Wallner in RF vs Kepler who played his entire Twins career mainly manning RF.  I have to accept a mistake or two if I want his bat in the lineup.  I also find it interesting that in one thread, some of us were advocating for Lewis to get sent down to AAA aka the "Wallner method" to improve and come back and smash, but on this thread, trashing that Wallner spent too much time in AAA in 2024.  

Finally, we have seen this Nickelodeon Melodrama before.  I keenly remember we had a similar argument between Rooker and Larnach with Wallner in the wings a few years back.  Neither Rooker or Larnach could be trusted in the outfield, and you couldn't keep them both in the lineup.  Twins ended up trading Rooker and we know the rest of the story.  If you've reached the point that you can't trust Wallner in the outfield, pick one to trade and move on.  I think we just have to be a little more patient on Wallner's defense as he comes back from the IL as hard as it may look at times.

[Ghost of Kirby Puckett]

On 6/6/2025 at 5:13 PM, Whitey333 said:

I love Matt Wallner.  But let's not over do it.  Come on he needs to play more, be more consistent to be compared to some of the heavy hitters you mention.  It's absolutely ridiculous.  He us good using your small sample size.  Let's let him develop more and see.  I think he is very important to the success of the team this year.  Go Twins.

600+ MLB at bats and total domination of triple A ball for multiple seasons is not a small sample size. A thousand at bats might be preferable, I'll agree. But it's pretty slim odds he is suddenly gonna fall off a cliff over the next 600. This is who he is.