The Minnesota Twins have seen several prospects break out over the past several years, but this year’s storyline has some local flavor as Forest Lake native Matt Wallner is raking his way closer to the major leagues.
Wallner represented the Twins in Saturday’s MLB Futures Game and was one of the standout players. His two-run homer in the third inning not only carried an exit velocity of 115.8 mph, but it gave the American League the lead en route to a 6-4 victory.
Matt Wallner with a SCORCHER!
116 mph exit velocity! pic.twitter.com/llzcqBe8MK
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 17, 2022
Wallner obliterated baseballs for the Forest Lake Rangers during his high school career and won the 2016 Minnesota Mr. Baseball Award. Although he was selected by the Twins in the 32nd round of that year’s MLB Draft, he opted to go to Southern Mississippi where he blasted 58 home runs in three seasons with the Golden Eagles.
The Twins drafted Wallner again with the 39th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and he promptly put his power on display at the professional level. In three minor league seasons, Wallner carries a .517 slugging percentage and has smacked 58 home runs on his way through the minors. And he’s putting on a show in 2022.
The 24-year-old hit .299/.436/.597 with 21 homers in 78 games for Double-A Wichita before being promoted to the St. Paul Saints last week. Although Wallner has just one game under his belt at the Triple-A level, his stock has continued to rise, ranking as the Twins’ No. 8 overall prospect, according to MLB.com.
So what kind of player does he project as at the MLB level?
According to MLB Pipeline, he has a “Joey Gallo-esque offensive ceiling.” For those of you who aren’t familiar, that means he’s got potential to be a player who strikes out a ton but absolutely smashes the ball when he makes contact.
