Inside The Twins

Twins' Matt Wallner cracks MLB Network's list of top ten right fielders

Wallner hits the ball harder than anyone else on the Twins' roster.

Will Ragatz

Aug 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Matt Wallner (38) hits a three-run home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field.
Aug 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Matt Wallner (38) hits a three-run home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field. / Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images
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Matt Wallner cracked MLB Network's ranking of the top ten right fielders in baseball in 2025, coming at No. 9 on the list. He's one spot ahead of Teoscar Hernandez, who recently signed a three-year, $66 million contract to remain with the powerhouse Dodgers.

Wallner, who is still two years away from arbitration, is making an estimated $800K this season. His combination of team-friendly contract and rare raw talent give him the opportunity to be a major difference-maker for the Twins moving forward.

After being taken with the 39th overall pick out of Southern Miss in 2019, Wallner made his MLB debut in 2022. The Forest Lake, MN native has been a valuable part-time player for the Twins in each of the past two seasons. Since 2023, he's hit 27 home runs and generated 4.4 Wins Above Replacement in 151 games. His career OPS+ is a very impressive 139.

Wallner is a fascinating player because he has tools that few others can match. He hits the ball extremely hard, giving him prodigious power when he connects at the right launch angle, and he also has one of the strongest arms among all MLB outfielders. It's a sight to behold when he gets ahold of a ball at the plate or rifles a throw in from the outfield.

But Wallner also hasn't established himself as a full-time option for the Twins yet, spending around half of each of the last two seasons at Triple-A St. Paul. Strikeouts will always be a big part of his game — he's struck out on 200 of his 580 MLB plate appearances (34.5 percent) — and Wallner has mostly been limited to a platoon role in his career. At the MLB level, he has a .277 average, .951 OPS, and 26 home runs in 472 career PAs against right-handed pitching. Against lefties, he has a .144 average, .510 OPS, and 3 home runs in 108 PAs.

This is the year the 27-year-old Wallner hopes to be on Minnesota's roster for the entire season and show some strides against left-handed pitching. If he can do that, he could easily have a 30-homer season in the middle of the lineup. Wallner will still provide value if he remains in a similar part-time platoon role, but a leap from him in 2025 would be a huge boost to the Twins' offense. That seems to be what MLB Network is projecting from the lefty slugger.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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