Dip and Rip: Twins' Two High-Tilt, Low-Bat Speed Young Hitters Find Divergent Paths to Success

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Twins closed August with a win Sunday, beating the Padres 7-2. It was a bad month for the team, who went 11-17 as they tried (and failed) to patch the holes punched in the roster by the trade deadline fire sale the front office executed to close out July. For many fans, though, it was less frustrating to watch the team for stretches of this month, with the pressure off and some new faces in the mix. While the pitching staff was far too thin to hold most of the leads the team was able to generate, the offense began to show signs of new life.

Key to that revival (they scored a respectable 4.4 runs per game for the month) were the returns of two players who hadn't been part of the lineup in May, June or July: Luke Keaschall (injured since April) and Austin Martin (stashed in Triple A all year, until the deadline). Keaschall batted .303/.380/.506 after returning from the injured list in the first week of the month, while Martin managed a .271/.363/.371 line as a restored piece of the outfield mix. For a team that has had precious few reliable on-base guys over the last two seasons, Keaschall and Martin were a breath of fresh air.

Both are right-handed batters with good athleticism, but both have shown limited defensive value in their young careers. Both are potential long-term pieces, but Keaschall is viewed as a part of the core, whereas Martin is more of a complementary option—and is unlikely to enter 2026 as a regular for the team. When you watch them play, you're left with an impression of two very different players. They have contrasting approaches, and they use their bodies differently. In terms of swings, though, they're a bit like—well, twins.

Cody Schoenmann wrote about the unique combination of shortness and steepness in Keaschall's swing two weeks ago. Along the way, though, he also touched on the fact that Martin shares some key swing attributes with Keaschall. Here are their average swing speed, contact point (relative to their body), swing tilt and attack angle and direction, for comparison.

• Keaschall: 67.1 mph, 32.0 in., 35° tilt, 8° attack angle, 0° attack direction
• Martin: 67.1 mph, 29.5 in., 40° tilt, 10° attack angle, 3° Pull attack direction

They have, in short, identical bat speed (although it doesn't quite play that way; more on that shortly), and each is steep to the baseball. Dipping one's barrel steeply, relative to one's hands, is a consistent and noteworthy characteristic. It's usually a good way to generate loft on batted balls, and it can be great for increasing one's margin for error to find the grass with a hit even when not perfectly on time. However, as you might imagine, swinging steeply tends to make it hard to hit high pitches. It's usually a characteristic of players who want to "drop the bat head" on the ball, like this.

That creates a particular challenge for each of them, in a league full of pitchers who can pound the top of the zone with fastballs: how do you get to those high offerings with a swing that seems geared to attack the ball down? This is where things get interesting, because the two of them could not be more different in the ways they answer that question.

For Martin, it's mostly a matter of laying off.

"That’s not my approach," Martin said of handling the high heater. "I don’t look to do damage on fastballs up in the zone. So I think that also helps me in terms of not chasing up, because that’s not where I’m looking—but yes, with the steep swing, that makes it a little more difficult, because I’m not as flat to the ball."

The key, the second-year big-leaguer said, is to recognize that pitch but not offer at it early in counts. Once he gets to two strikes, he has to protect the whole zone, but he's learned to simply flick the ball foul and fight to get a more hittable offering. If he can avoid whiffing and keep making good swing decisions, eventually, pitchers will either give in and throw him a breaking ball down—or miss with a heater that's not as elevated as they intended.

"Obviously, there’s a skill gap between a major-league pitcher and a Triple-A pitcher," Martin said. But I haven’t felt at this moment that it’s an issue. I haven’t been attacked too much that way. Even though they’re capable of locating it more [consistently], doesn’t mean that they locate it that often, so it’s not anything that I’m concerned about."

Indeed, you can easily see what Martin is looking for when he steps into the box: a pitch down and out over the plate, where he can feast.

That approach makes Martin a bit more prone to chasing low and away than one might expect such a patient batter to be, but he's not getting himself out by expanding at the top of the zone. At least, when he does swing at a pitch down and away, he's taking a pass at a pitch he can theoretically handle. Again, with that extreme tilt on his swing, he's much better on the ball inside—but it has to be below the belly button, or it ties him up. Here's a heat map like the one above, but instead of showing his swing rate by location, it shows his run value above average per 100 pitches, by location.

The ball away is hard on him, but because he's disciplined both low and high and dangerous on the inner third, we still see a lot of red here. What Martin's doing is working, even if his swing is unthreatening by the standards of most big-league batters.

Keaschall's process is very different—not just because he's much less cerebral than Martin in his approach, but because he actually goes after the high pitch. He hits it, too.

"It depends on your approach, depends on what you’re trying to do," Keaschall said, by way of explaining why a guy with a steep swing seems to like the ball up. "But there’s a lot more to hitting than what angle your swing is."

He's right, of course. His swing is a symphony of unusual things, and watching him prepare for games gives a glimpse into how carefully it's been engineered. His pre-batting practice routine involves several reps in which he holds the bat in one hand (each, in turn) and practices a short, shadow version of his stroke, with the lower half and the explosive rotation of it all quieted down and everything slightly slowed. He's locking in the exceptionally short hand path that seems to deliver barrel to ball consistently—and his imaginary target always seems to be chest-high. His swing gets its steepness not from an attempt to whip the bat head down through the ball, but from an assiduous effort to maximize efficiency of movement.

"I’ve worked really hard on my swing since high school, so it changes a lot," Keaschall said. "But at the end of the day, you’re built the way you’re built, and you’re gonna swing the way you swing. I’ve always had a pretty short swing, pretty quick to the ball, putting an emphasis on making contact, just being a consistent hitter in the box. I’d say it’s something you’re taught, but I mean, God gave you the tools that you have and God gave you a certain type of body. I’m a very tight individual, and that helps me stay short to the ball, as opposed to a big, loose person with a longer swing."

That's the crucial insight, for him, and the distinguishing feature between him and Martin. Whereas Martin is a fluid athlete whose limbs always seem to be in motion, Keaschall gives the impression of being one big muscle, moving all at once. That can be a liability in the field (he's not very adaptable or smooth when the ball gets near him at second base), but at the plate, it lets him come so cleanly to the ball that he can handle pitches other hitters otherwise like him would have no chance to attack. He takes a much more expansive approach than does Martin, for that very reason. His compact movements make everything seem hittable.

It's actually the high pitch on which Keaschall does most of his damage. He's that slight bit flatter than Martin, anyway, but he also has that hardwired handpath—with the violence and the extra space creation of his hard stride and explosive rotation built back in, come game time—on his side. Pitchers have to be good enough at commanding their stuff to consistently pound him away, or to hit a target above the letters with that fastball. Otherwise, they're in big trouble.

That shortness and tightness in his frame makes it hard to get the good part of the wood on the ball low and away, and you can start to see how the league might eventually figure out Keaschall and force him through a tough set of adjustments. For now, though, he's covering everything nicely. He's just not doing it anything like the way Martin does.

Let's circle back to the question of their bat speed. They each swing at 67.1 mph, well below the MLB average. Neither is a budding slugger, for that reason. However, each has ways to make up for that lack of sheer swing speed, and the different ways they do so help elucidate their differences in approach.

Here's how each sets up in the box and strides into the baseball.

As we've talked about before, Keaschall has a high-energy stride that carries him right into the baseball. He also doesn't stand especially deep in the batter's box. He's not trying to buy himself time in there, because even though he lacks elite swing speed, he gets started early and still makes good swing decisions. He's firing early and committing himself early, which lets him catch the ball out front even with a slow swing. That directness in the path of his hands helps in that regard, too.

Martin, by contrast, stands very deep in the box and takes a small stride. He's close to the plate, to maximize the extent to which he can cover the outer edge despite a swing that doesn't use the full length of his lumber, horizontally. He's a later decider than Keaschall, so he necessarily catches the ball deeper. His best swings will be the ones where he's slightly early, but he provides himself a margin for error by being willing to get there a hair later.

Keaschall has shown much more power so far, but Martin is drawing walks and getting on base at a stellar rate. Each has passed the first test the league poses to a steep-swing righty batter without elite bat speed, in their own way. Each has been fun to watch and helped make the team's offense more so in their first full month with the team. While they're destined to be defined by their differences, their shared swing quirks make them an interesting shared case study and provide a good window into the problem-solving ahead as the Twins try to build a more successful lineup in 2025.

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[Doctor Wu]

Thanks, Matthew. Another fascinating article with tons of insight and information and stats. I especially liked the way that Martin talked about his approach to hitting. Not only the swing and bat speed, but things like the way that they stand in the batter's box and the type of stride they take: stuff I'd never thought much about before but found very informative. Overall, very educational and helpful for an old-timer like me. I'm hoping that both Martin and Keaschall will become mainstays in the Twins lineup. We need MORE guys like this they can hit, get on base, and score runs. That's what it's all about, right?

[Eris]

Nice write up. Makes you wonder if bat speed is overrated. 

[Doctor Wu]

39 minutes ago, Eris said:

Nice write up. Makes you wonder if bat speed is overrated. 

Personally, this recent emphasis on bat speed is hard to get my head around. Overrated, another meaningless stat, or just not explained well to us older fans? I'm still bewildered. 

[TNtwins85]

Every game they bring up how Martin has changed his swing and where he starts with his hands. It’s obvious he’s more to the ball. Love what he’s been doing since he came up. Putting professional AB’s together every game. If he can hit and get on base like he has I don’t care if he can’t field anywhere. Great article.

[jmlease1]

It's still so little data on both of them, though Keaschall is at least getting close to a decent sample. Martin only has 81 PA's this season.

Both of them are getting on base and taking their walks, which is hugely important. It'll be interesting to see if pitchers can get them to start chasing or swinging in bad zones as they build a book on them. Keaschall's power production and ability to do damage on mistakes should help him continue that way, but Martin will either need to show that he can do more damage on mistakes or be able to wear pitchers out by continually fouling pitches off. If he starts chasing that BA and OBP is going to drop fast and hard.

 

[Bodie]

17 minutes ago, Doctor Wu said:

Personally, this recent emphasis on bat speed is hard to get my head around. Overrated, another meaningless stat, or just not explained well to us older fans? I'm still bewildered. 

Some people seem to think that bat speed is a stat just like hits or runs...

I've got some boob on here telling me repeatedly, absolutely convinced, that Matt Wallner is an elite hitter.  Not based on his  .22something batting average, or 18!!! homer's and 35 RBIs.

But because of his swing speed. 

Good hitters hit, not just swing hard.  Would you want a 3 time batting champ (consecutively) with a "bad" swing speed or Mr. 35 RBIs and his "elite" bat speed?  Not even a question worth asking...

[mnfireman]

51 minutes ago, Bodie said:

Some people seem to think that bat speed is a stat just like hits or runs...

I've got some boob on here telling me repeatedly, absolutely convinced, that Matt Wallner is an elite hitter.  Not based on his  .22something batting average, or 18!!! homer's and 35 RBIs.

But because of his swing speed. 

Good hitters hit, not just swing hard.  Would you want a 3 time batting champ (consecutively) with a "bad" swing speed or Mr. 35 RBIs and his "elite" bat speed?  Not even a question worth asking...

Agreed. How many players with poor results/stats keep getting chances because of swing speed, spin rate, exit velocity, launch angle and expected results while others, despite good results/stats, get banished to the end of the bench or worse, never get out of the high minors, because their stats/results are considered unsustainable because they don't have those eye-popping metrics?

[DJL44]

If Austin Martin can keep fouling off the pitches he doesn't want to hit, he can continue to decide late. This will help him draw walks and get on base.

I guessed before I even clicked into the article that someone would try to turn it into a "Let's bash Matt Wallner" thread. I'm not following that bait. I will say that no major league team is going to be successful if every player has exactly the same approach. That means the opposing pitchers can make one game plan and get your batters out every single night. You need on-base guys and power guys. You need guys that attack fastballs and others who crush breaking balls. You need lefthanded and righthanded bats. It's the mix-and-match approach that works best. Someone in the lineup needs to match up against the opposing starting pitcher's weaknesses.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Personally, this recent emphasis on bat speed is hard to get my head around. Overrated, another meaningless stat, or just not explained well to us older fans? I'm still bewildered. 

Certainly bat speed is not overrated if a Team or hitter values extra base hits, chiefly……..but barreling up the ball (regardless of bat speed) has always been king, IMO.

Luis Arraez makes a living getting the bat on the ball & putting it in play (can’t imagine his bat speed is very high % v League) ……. personally, I think he (and his approach) has great value for 3-5 guys in the line-up.

Arraez at 1B next year OR Keaschall at 1B next year would make me happy! Personally, I see Keaschall as more of a catalyst and in the 1-3 spot in the line-up & would like to plug Arraez in at #5 everyday to produce RBI …….. great guy to protect the 4 hole hitter and a guy that can drive in RISP. Maybe unorthodox with lack of power but I think it’s more effective. Nothing more disappointing to watch & to waste potential WINS as a guy striking out with Zero or One out with RISP. Arraez doesn’t steal bases so having him hit at the Top negates his value of putting the ball in play.

Bat speed, in the end, is worthless if not connected to bat to ball skills and high contact rate…….i.e. Matt Wallner. .216 and 20 HR with 36 RBI (close to ‘25 stat line) is a lot less valuable than the potential Arraez would bring with .295 - 6 HR - 75 RBI at this point next year, if batting 5 or 6 in the line-up. Wallner (w/o looking) probably strikes out 8:1 that of Arraez?

[DJL44]

57 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Bat speed, in the end, is worthless if not connected to bat to ball skills and high contact rate…….i.e. Matt Wallner. .216 and 20 HR with 36 RBI (close to ‘25 stat line) is a lot less valuable than the potential Arraez would bring with .295 - 6 HR - 75 RBI at this point next year, if batting 5 or 6 in the line-up. Wallner (w/o looking) probably strikes out 8:1 that of Arraez?

Wallner has 35 RBI in 335 PA

Arraez has 49 RBI in 578 PA

Looking at career stats

Wallner 123 RBI in 914 PA

Arraez 296 RBI in 3436 PA

Matt Wallner drives in runs at a higher rate than Luis Arraez. It's a lot harder to drive in a run with a single than it is with a double or a HR.

[Derojo]

Luis Arraez is 5' 10", Keaschall is six feet, and has some power. I would choose Keaschall as he will likely improve his batting with more reps. Arraez has been getting significantly worse the last two years.