Matt Wallner Settling In at Home

July 30, 20224 yr

The Minnesota Twins selected Matt Wallner in the 1st round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. In 2022, he began the year playing at Double-A Wichita. Now up with Triple-A St. Paul, the Forest Lake, MN native is settling in.

After getting off to a bit of a slow start this season, Matt Wallner turned on the jets for the Wind Surge. Prior to his promotion he played in 78 games and posted a ridiculous .299/.436/.597 slash line with 21 homers. Just before appearing as a representative for the Twins in the All Star Futures Game, Wallner was promoted to St. Paul.

Still finding his footing at the Triple-A level, Wallner is looking for his first extra-base hit and home run. He’s no stranger to the confines of CHS Field, however, as it’s just a quick 30 minutes from where he calls home. Wallner has risen the ranks among Twins prospect lists, and now finds himself as one of the organization’s best bats.

At Southern Mississippi, Wallner starred both on the mound and at the plate. He hasn’t pitched in professional baseball, but his arm may be as special as his power. Reigning things in at the plate, Wallner has also taken steps forward when it comes to protecting the strike zone. How he continues to factor in as an offensive producer remains to be seen, but there’s no denying the current level of production will turn heads.

Catching up with Wallner this week following his All-Star week excitement and the promotion, he had a few answers for me to share with Twins Daily readers.

Twins Daily: What's been the biggest change since your promotion? Have you noticed anything significant between the two levels?

Matt Wallner: Nothing crazy - certainly more veterans and older guys at AAA but at the end of the day it’s still baseball.

TD: How has playing pro ball just a half hour from home been?

MW: It’s really great to be playing back in Minnesota so close to home, it’s awesome to have friends and family at every home game and play at CHS where I played in the past as a high school player.

TD: What was the Futures Game experience like? What was the best part?

MW: The Futures Game was awesome, so cool to play against the best players in the minors at Dodger Stadium. The best part for me was hitting the home run in the game but overall it was just a great experience all the way through

TD: Considering the development of your game as a whole this year, what is something you're continuing to focus on in the second half?

MW: I would love to continue to be more patient at the plate and take more walks. I think that’s been a huge jump in my game for me this year and would love to continue to focus on that.

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