Wallner Remains Pillar Of Minnesota's Power Hitting Approach

Minneapolis – The Bomba Squad has long passed, and the Minnesota Twins are shaking things up with the makeup of their lineup from this trade deadline. They want to move away from winning every game with multiple home runs, but they still need to have a few hitters they can expect to swing for the fences every game.

Matt Wallner fits in nicely, even with this change in approach. The Forest Lake native has been on a power surge in the week since the deadline, hitting three home runs and five RBI with a .292/.452/.792 slash line in 31 plate appearances. It’s just what the Twins need as they wait for Byron Buxton’s return from the IL.

“I think it sucked the first couple of days,” Wallner said regarding the changes in the clubhouse following the deadline. “Not sucked, but different. Now, it’s just like F it, let’s go. And it’s as good a vibe as we’ve had all year. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Wallner’s latest home run on Friday night, which started Minnesota’s offense in their 9-4 win over the Kansas City Royals, traveled the opposite way into the left-center field bullpens. Wallner only had three opposite-field home runs in his career entering this season, but he’s already tied that amount over his last 122 plate appearances.

All three of his opposite-field home runs date back to June 26, and it might be the best indicator that the best version of Wallner at the plate is here to stay.

“For a while in June, I wasn’t really going the opposite way, but now, that’s changed,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball hard that way.”

“He’s very capable of making the ballpark look really tiny, to all fields,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “And off the bat, his swings they look like line drives that might be in the gap. But you know it’s Wally. Not many guys hit the ball like that.”

While two of Wallner’s three homers since the deadline came in losses, his power surge is still a table setter for what the rest of the team can do throughout the game. On Friday, Ryan Jeffers drew a walk, and Kody Clemens hit a single. Then Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis drove both of them in to make it a 3-1 game in the bottom of the first.

“He has been smashing the ball, and he’s got the quickest bat speed in the league, some fact like that, he’s like top 10,” said Clemens. “But yeah, he’s been amazing for us right now, stringing together 10 at-bats, he’s walking, having long at-bats. It’s been really good and fun to watch.”

“He doesn’t have to pull the ball to be a dynamic offensive player,” said Baldelli. “He can just continue to look for the ball out over the plate at times and do damage that way. That’s what separates him from a lot of guys in this league.”

The homer on Friday was also his 16th on the year, putting him in sole possession of second on the team behind Buxton. He doesn’t have the prettiest RBI total to complement the homers, with just 27 on the season, which is the fewest an player in the league has right now with at least 16 home runs this year.

With his 2-for-5 night at the plate Friday, Wallner sits on a 121 OPS+ on the season, second only to Buxton (142+) on the team in a minimum of 70 games played. When he can get the offense going as he did on Friday night, it makes the lineup all the stronger and the victories a lot more fun for Minnesota’s clubhouse. That’s their focus for the rest of the season, rather than dwelling on the significant changes to their clubhouse following the deadline.

“I think facing a familiar team, and I think that’s always a good thing, and just seeing everyone 1 through 9  do their job and play just good baseball,” said Joe Ryan, who started Friday night’s game. “Good at-bats, long at-bats regardless of the outcome, but a lot of positive outcomes tonight, so that was something to build on and look forward to.

“Yeah, it really was [fun]. We’re just going out there, playing nine innings of good baseball.”

It ended up being a good game for Wallner to take a break after, as he left the team Saturday on paternity leave to be with his wife Sydnie, as they’re expecting their first child.