As Austin Martin Slumps, Matt Wallner States His Case With 3-Homer Game

Could Wallner be slugging his way back into the Twins' lineup in the near future?

Apr 12, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Twins right fielder Matt Wallner (38) reacts after hitting a one run single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Things change quickly during a baseball season. A few weeks ago, Austin Martin was one of the Twins' best hitters and Matt Wallner was so lost at the plate that he was optioned to Triple-A. Now things have swung in the opposite direction for both players, albeit at different levels of competition.

On May 12, we wrote about an incredible start to the season for Martin, a former top prospect who was putting together a post-hype breakout and leading MLB in on-base percentage. At that point, through 116 plate appearances, Martin was slashing .337/.466/.424, giving him an .889 OPS. His unsustainably-high BABIP pointed to some inevitable regression, but his success didn't seem fluky, either.

Since then, Martin has gone into a major slump. Dating back to May 12, he's gone 13 for his last 83 at the plate, with just four walks to 16 strikeouts. Over 88 plate appearances, he's slashed .157/.205/.241 for a .446 OPS. More recently, he's gone 3 for his last 37 at the plate. His OBP has dropped over 100 points and his OPS has dropped around 200 points in three and a half weeks.

Meanwhile, Wallner — who demotion opened up the every day role in right field for Martin — has been heating up at Triple-A St. Paul lately. Wallner was optioned on May 14 after a truly horrific 34-game start to his season in the majors. His struggles initially carried over to Triple-A, as he was hitting .171 with a .479 OPS through his first nine games with the Saints.

Since May 26, Wallner has gone 14 for 37 (.378) with three doubles, five home runs, and five walks. He's riding a streak of five consecutive multi-hit games. And he has five homers in his last five after blasting three of them on Thursday in St. Paul. Just like that, Wallner's Saints OPS has jumped to .917.

To the window, to the Wallner🫡#stpaulsaints | @mauerchevrolet pic.twitter.com/q815BJE5qi

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) June 5, 2026

For as poorly as Wallner played for the Twins earlier this year, he's still a guy with a 118 career OPS+ in the big leagues. Maybe this stint in the minors is what he needed to gain some confidence back and find his swing, as has seemingly been the case for Royce Lewis.

If the Twins were to bring Wallner back in the near future, it would allow them to go to more of a platoon approach with Martin in right field. Wallner's defense remains an issue, so he could also be used at designated hitter at times. James Outman, whose continued presence on the Twins' roster is somewhat baffling, can be sent down to make room on the active roster.

Wallner and Lewis are making a strong push to be brought back to Minneapolis soon. Prospects like Kaelen Culpepper and Hendry Mendez are also knocking hard on the door. It's time for the Twins to inject some life into their offense by dipping into the talent at St. Paul.