Minnesota native Matt Wallner has been thriving for Twins since return to MLB

Wallner's power was huge for the Twins' offense in July.

Jul 26, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Matt Wallner (38) high-fives teammates after scoring a run in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. / Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Wallner's third MLB season couldn't have gotten off to a much rougher start. Coming off an excellent 2023 campaign, the 26-year-old went 2 for 25 with one home run and 17 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances, resulting in a demotion to Triple-A St. Paul in mid-April.

Even after getting sent down, Wallner continued to struggle for the rest of April. He started to heat up with six homers for the Saints in May, then caught fire with 12 bombs and a 1.127 OPS in June. That led to Wallner's return to the Twins' lineup on July 7. Since coming back to the big leagues, the native of Forest Lake, Minnesota has stayed hot, carrying the offense at times during a massive month of July.

Across 15 games last month, Wallner went 16 for 44 with five homers, 9 RBI, and a 1.269 OPS. He still struck out 19 times in 51 plate appearances, a 37 percent rate that reduced his season strikeout rate to a ghastly 43 percent. But when Wallner hits the ball, he hits it as hard as anyone in the sport. In a small sample size, his average exit velocity (95.9 MPH), bat speed (77.6 MPH), barrel percentage (29.4), and hard-hit percentage (61.8) are all elite, 99th-percentile type marks this season. Wallner's 442-foot home run in Wednesday's win over the Mets was his third in his last four starts.

in two games since getting recalled from Triple-A this past weekend, Matt Wallner has already hit multiple balls with a 116+ MPH exit velocity (including this HR), something only 4 other hitters have done this year (Oneil, Giancarlo, Vlad Jr., Shohei)pic.twitter.com/1KKB6ZjTDr

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 9, 2024

Despite the 43 percent strikeout rate, Wallner's OPS is up to .990 in 28 games this season. He also has solid range in both corner outfield spots and the second-strongest arm of any player in the league. Last year, Wallner's 97.8 average throw velocity trailed only Colorado's Nolan Jones among all fielders.

Wallner said no way 🙅‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/KHJCUAVKf3

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 24, 2024

It's worth noting that the Twins don't currently view Wallner as an option against left-handed pitching; he's 1 for 9 with six strikeouts against lefties this year and 8 for 68 in his career. Nonetheless, he can be a highly valuable player even if he's mostly in a platoon role against righties.

Wallner hits the ball ridiculously hard and throws the ball ridiculously hard, which makes for a very fun combination. The key for the 2019 first-round pick out of Southern Miss will be to get his strikeout rate down to a more manageable number, even if there's always going to be plenty of swing-and-miss in his game. If he's able cut down on the Ks a bit, draw a few more walks, and continue to crush the ball when he makes contact, he can be a key piece of the Twins' core for the rest of this season and beyond.