Practice into action: Twins hitters ramp up more quickly in a camp revised by Rocco Baldelli

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Whether it stemmed from the six-week collapse at the end of last season, or the slow start when the Twins opened with a 7-13 record in their first 20 games, manager Rocco Baldelli wanted to run a different type of training camp this spring.

So far, so different.

An emphasis was finding more at-bats for players during spring training games. Matt Wallner entered Thursday with the most plate appearances (40) in the Grapefruit League — he totaled 44 last year — and the third-most among MLB hitters when including teams based in Arizona, where there is much less travel for road games.

Ryan Jeffers (30), Trevor Larnach (31) and Jose Miranda (34) already have more plate appearances this spring than last year while Brooks Lee (35) is one game from surpassing his 2024 total.

“Letting them know early in the offseason, ‘Be ready to go. You’re going to play.’ They knew it. Mentally and physically, they were ready to go,” Baldelli said. “You tack on six to eight plate appearances very, very early, I think you’re giving yourself a head start. It’s like ripping the Band-Aid off. The sooner you get out there and go play, the faster the body gets to where it needs to be.”

The Twins entered Thursday with six players who had compiled at least 30 plate appearances. Atlanta, by contrast, had none.

“As a team, I would say we looked a little tired at the end of the year last year,” Wallner said. “I think getting more reps now and building it up better can only help that, honestly.”

Hitters all have their own approaches ramping up toward Opening Day, especially with a little under two weeks remaining in camp. Some guys like to use spring training games to work different parts of their swing. Many young players know they must impress quickly to earn a job with the club.

“Once I find my rhythm and I remember what to do against this pitcher or in this situation, then I’ll feel like I’m in a good place,” Larnach said. “I feel like I’m there, but at the same time, I don’t want to be hot. It might sound weird, but I don’t want to get hot for the beginning of spring and then have to hold on to that for multiple weeks or a month. There is that aspect to it.”

Said Wallner: “I try to keep in mind the season is two weeks out. Don’t press. Keep doing what I’m doing and build more and more into the season.”

Lee, who debuted last year and is competing to start at second base, takes most of the road trips as one of the youngest players in camp. As a switch hitter, it’s even more beneficial to receive extra at-bats.

“I want to get at-bats from both sides,” Lee said. “It’s a big deal. I struggled lefthanded last year, so I’m getting a lot of lefthanded at-bats, which is great. But also, it gives the opportunity to see a couple more lefties just with the accumulation of more at-bats, so I’m loving it.”

It’s been a concerted effort to keep starters in games. The Twins traveled 88 miles to face the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday with several players who could be in their Opening Day lineup. The Orioles started pulling their starters in the fourth and fifth innings while Wallner, Jeffers and Miranda took at-bats in the eighth inning.

The next day, a home game, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton remained in the game until they hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“We won’t be getting them out there for nine innings just in the last game,” said Baldelli, noting the uptick in defensive innings was partially devised because the team had multiple night games this week. “They’ll be out there playing basically full games fairly regularly, and I think that’s what you want.”

The success of the Twins’ spring training shift won’t be determined until the end of the upcoming season, but players expect it’ll help them in September as much as it helps them in April.

“You have to monitor your workload a little bit, just make sure you don’t gas yourself,” Jeffers said. “I think if you look at teams that do have a higher workload in spring, they’re usually just fine in September. I think it’s good. You’re able to experiment a little more, OK, this starts feeling good, now let’s focus more on this. You’re able to play more of those [internal] games than some other times.”