Matt Wallner shows up to Twins spring training lighter and with an altered batting stance

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Matt Wallner didn’t have the season he wanted last year, and showed up to Twins spring training this year 10 pounds lighter and with an altered batting stance.

The coaching staff, meanwhile, has continued to remind Wallner that his down season doesn’t look as poor as everybody else’s bad years.

The Forest Lake native still hit 22 home runs. His walk rate ticked up, and he cut down on his number of strikeouts. His .776 OPS was still above the league-average mark. He’s been streaky throughout his three-year career, but last year was the first time his slump didn’t mean a demotion to Class AAA to figure out his swing.

“It’s pretty damn good to feel like it could get better,” Twins assistant hitting coach Trevor Amicone said. “By most measures, a lot of players would be wishing that was the type of year they had.”

The biggest problem is Wallner didn’t hit well with runners in scoring position (.177 batting average, .652 OPS), an issue for a hitter who typically bats in the middle of the lineup. He totaled only 40 RBI despite his career-high home run total. That’s tied for the fewest RBI for any major leaguer with at least 20 home runs in a season, and the other two (Joey Gallo’s 21 homers with the Twins in 2023, Chris Hoiles’ 20 home runs with Baltimore in 1992) hit fewer home runs.

Wallner had particular issues hitting fastballs at the top of the strike zone. In response to his season, he closed his batting stance a little bit more than last year, and he’s using a much smaller leg kick. The idea, Wallner said, is it will give him more time to react to pitches.

“Just trying to have more of a simple [swing] path as opposed to the highs and lows that come with a big swing,” Wallner said. “Hopefully, a low leg kick can focus on some of my weaknesses and help me not have those 0-for-15, 0-for-20 struggles that have come in the past.”

“I should be able to get more barrels,” Wallner said. “It’s all about getting barrel to the ball. I shouldn’t lose much power. If anything, more barrels should lead to more homers, I would think.”

Twins manager Derek Shelton added: “I’d like to see a lot of homers. If we’re taking votes or doing a poll, I’ll sign up for that.”

The Twins know how much Wallner means to their offense. There were some difficulties creating runs when Wallner was sidelined for six weeks because of a hamstring strain.

Across the past three seasons, among players with at least 700 plate appearances, Wallner ranks 15th in OPS against righthanded pitching (.883). The names above him on that leader board are the game’s biggest stars, such as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper and Kyle Tucker.

“We have to own his superpowers,” said Amicone, noting there is a balance between not overcorrecting Wallner’s struggles against high fastballs because it could create holes in other areas of the strike zone.

It’s too early to know whether Wallner’s altered stance will have a dramatic effect on his approach at the plate. But he spent a lot of time this winter working on seeing high fastballs and hitting off a tall tee in batting cages.

“I don’t feel worse than I normally do, so I feel like that’s a good sign,” Wallner said. “I’m more on time with heaters. I’m not crushing them yet, but they’re not looking like 150 mph like they normally sometimes in February. I feel like that’s a good sign.”

The way Wallner kept describing his changes was making things simpler. He has shown he can have success at the big-league level, and he played a notable role in the Twins’ playoff run as a rookie in 2023.

“Hopefully, smaller, simpler — I don’t know if it’s contact-oriented or not, but in my head, it might be,” Wallner said. “That kind of swing will present more RBIs and hits with runners in scoring position.”

Wallner is probably the favorite to start in right field this year, though the Twins have a ton of lefthanded-hitting corner outfield options. Among them, Alan Roden hit a grand slam against Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 22, and Emmanuel Rodriguez homered against the Braves and again against Detroit lefthander Brant Hurter in a 3-0 victory on Monday in Lakeland, Fla.