Reviewing the Minnesota Twins’ 5 Hardest Hit Balls in 2024

They all seem to have something in common.

1 hour ago, High heat said:

I am a big Wallner fan!  He is getting better at putting the ball in play which is huge while still hitting the ball hard.  Be glad to see him take over RF everyday in 25.  
 

Still hoping they can trade for Bob Seymour from the Rays to platoon at 1B.  Put up similar # to Wallner at AAA and huge exit velo #s.  And fits our budget constraints.

Don't think it would be a problem to get Seymour, but it doesn't seem like the league believes he can make enough contact to be a viable MLB hitter. He was Rule 5 eligible this year and no team grabbed him.
https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/rule-5-draft-preview-which-prospects-will-be-selected/

1 hour ago, David Maro said:

Really this is laughable to talk about how hard a ball gets hit. In many of the cases they went for outs. You get to watch the runner thrown out by yards not inches. Doesn't matter much if the ball is hit 20 mph or 100 mph it can be a hit if in the right place. The same with the nonsense of a homerun going 450 ft when the fence is 375 ft. If the ball goes 380 ft it's still a homerun. The only thing that matters is the score.

Generally, the faster a ball travels off a bat, the more likely it is to turn into a hit or especially a home run. Higher exit velocities usually translates to better production. In the case of 110+mph balls off the bat, they rarely turn into outs because the ball has to be hit directly at somebody. The batter cannot control exactly where the ball goes.

Top Average EV in MLB Last Year
1. Aaron Judge, OPS 1.159 wRC+218
2. Shohei Ohtani, OPS 1.036, wRC+ 181
3. Oneil Cruz, OPS .773, wRC+ 110
4. Juan Soto, OPS .989, wRC+ 180
5. Ketel Marte, OPS .932, wRC+ 151
6. Vlad Guerrero Jr. OPS .940, wRC+ 165
7. Kyle Schwarber OPS .851, wRC+ 135
8. Matt Champman, OPS .790, wRC+ 121
9. Rafael Devers, OPS .871, wRC+ 134
10. Yordan Alvarez, OPS .959, wRC+ 168

The obvious outlier there is Oneil Cruz with his propensity to hit tons of ground balls, but every single hitter in the rest of the list put up All Star to MVP caliber hitting numbers.

In any case, I think you're missing the point of the article. The point is honestly that Matt Wallner has superstar pieces to his game, and the potential to be one of the most valuable players in baseball.

13 hours ago, High heat said:

Just because he doesn’t get taken in rule 5 doesn’t mean the league doesn’t think he can translate.  Having to stay in majors and fit a position or spot on 26 roster is a huge part. (Extremely hard to keep a 1B only guy on a 26 man roster as a bench piece)

The Saint/Twins did a nice job of adjusting Wallners swing at AAA in a month or so.

I mean maybe he can maybe he can’t hit in the MLB. I just like the hard hit rate and as an option at 1B other then just Julien and Miranda.  I really don’t want any of the affordable 1B free agents just to give ABs to lost causes. 

I haven't seen anything about Wallner changing his swing in AAA. He was tinkering with the swing before the season started to cover the plate better. The quotes I've seen from Wallner in regard to his struggles during the season had to do with his approach at the plate and pressing. Wallner made those adjustments himself.

Not getting selected in Rule 5 absolutely means the league doesn't think a player can translate. No team would turn away a free MLB caliber player, even if they didn't have the roster space, they'd simply make the space by trading another player. Nine teams got below average production at the plate from their 1B last year. 12 teams got below average production from their DH position last year. There are 3 positions a guy like Seymour could fill. Bench bat, 1B/DH. Multiply that by 29 teams and that's 87 potential openings he was passed over. There are plenty of huge power guys who MLB teams didn't believe in. Adam Brett Walker III, Daniel Palka types.

https://community.ottoneu.com/t/the-legend-of-bob-seymour-a-stats-somewhat-deep-dive/14762

If Seymour had a sub-30% K rate or was a year or two younger, he'd have absolutely been claimed (not to mention he'd been on Tampa Bay's 26 man roster). I do think he might have some potential, and so do a lot of other teams, I'd think. But he's far from a sure bet, and that's why teams passed him over.