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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Dan Gartland

Twins OF Absolutely Crushed One of the Most Impressive Home Runs of the MLB Season

Outfielder Matt Wallner is one of the top prospects in the Twins’ system (No. 5 on MLB.com’s list), and his power is a big reason why. He has 11 homers in 67 games at Triple A this season and hit 27 in 128 games between Triple A and Double A last season. His MLB.com scouting report grades his power as a 60 on the 20–80 scale. 

So yeah, he can crush the ball. Want proof? Check out the home run he hit in Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Mariners. Wallner didn’t just take Bryce Miller deep. He hit one of the longest opposite-field home runs of the season—into the upper deck at Target Field. 

Wallner’s homer left the bat at 108.0 mph and traveled 426 feet, according to Statcast—and it was to straightaway left field. Few hitters in the majors have that sort of opposite-field power. In fact, Wallner’s homer was fifth longest opposite field home run of the season. (The longest, of course, was by Shohei Ohtani.) Since the implementation of Statcast in 2015, there have only been 30 opposite-field home runs that traveled at least as far as Wallner’s. That’s elite power. 

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