Inside The Twins

Twins' Matt Wallner ties MLB lead with sixth home run of spring training

Wallner, who is set to be the Twins' leadoff hitter, is a sneaky candidate to hit 30-plus homers in 2025.

Will Ragatz

Mar 6, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Matt Wallner (38) is congratulated at the plate by catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) as New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) walks away during the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Mar 6, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Matt Wallner (38) is congratulated at the plate by catcher Ryan Jeffers (27) as New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) walks away during the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Dave Nelson-Imagn Images
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Twins right fielder and non-traditional leadoff hitter Matt Wallner drilled his sixth home run of spring training during Monday's game against the Pirates. The blast, which came on a low slider from Pittsburgh reliever Dennis Santana, tied Wallner atop the MLB leaderboard for homers.

Rhys Hoskins (Brewers), Gavin Sheets (Padres), and Trayce Thompson (Red Sox) are the others with six home runs each so far this spring. Wallner is also tied with Jerar Encarnacion (Giants) for the league lead with 14 RBI.

Spring training stats should always be taken for what they are, but it's still encouraging to see a player put up big numbers during the exhibition slate. After a fairly slow start, Wallner's OPS is now at 1.008 after he homered and walked on Monday. He also struck out twice, making it a perfect "three true outcomes" afternoon for a player who fits that mold more than any other on the Twins' roster.

The Twins are hoping for a breakout season from the 27-year-old Wallner, who has flashed his prodigious power with 27 home runs in 151 games over the past two seasons. He's spent nearly as much time playing for Triple-A St. Paul as he has with Minnesota since 2023, but with Max Kepler gone, Wallner is going to have every opportunity to be a fixture in the Twins' lineup for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.

If his spring usage is any indication, he'll be hitting atop the lineup on Opening Day and beyond. Rocco Baldelli has used Wallner as his leadoff hitter all spring long, with excellent results. Wallner doesn't fit the old-school idea of a leadoff hitter who has a high batting average and can steal bases, but that line of thinking has been outdated for a while now. On-base percentage is more important from a modern leadoff hitter, and Wallner's .372 mark last season trailed only Carlos Correa among Twins regulars. Sure, he's going to strike out a lot and not hit for a particularly high average. He's also going to crush the baseball. It's the Kyle Schwarber model of leadoff hitter.

Even when considering his struggles against left-handed pitching, Wallner is a legitimate candidate — and perhaps the favorite — to lead the Twins in home runs this season. With his power, he could easily hit at least 30 of them if he sticks in the lineup all season and continues to produce at the level he's shown he can.

Twins fall to Pirates

The Twins lost 4-2 to the Pirates on Monday in what was a marquee spring training pitching matchup. Pittsburgh phenom Paul Skenes struck out seven and generated 17 whiffs over 4.2 innings, though he did allow three walks and five hits to the Twins, including a Mike Ford RBI double in the second inning. Joe Ryan struck out four of the first five batters he faced, but he was tagged for three runs on a pair of homers by Ke'Bryan Hayes and Joey Bart.

Bryan Reynolds homered off Justin Topa in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-1 game, and Wallner's homer in the seventh was all the Twins could muster the rest of the way. Trevor Larnach had two hits for Minnesota and Ryan Jeffers reached based three times on a single and two walks.

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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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