Matt Wallner, leadoff hitter? Outfielder with power is a leading candidate to serve there for Twins

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Matt Wallner batted leadoff in all four Grapefruit League games he’s played during spring training, and it could be his normal spot in the lineup once the regular season begins.

Wallner, a lefthanded hitter, has one career start as the leadoff batter — Sept. 15 last year — but he could be positioned there to set the table for righthanded hitters like Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis.

“I want to give [Wallner] opportunities in spring training to gain some comfort, so it gives us the option to do it when the season starts,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I wouldn’t want to stick someone out there Opening Day that has not had to do that. It’s trying to use these games for good use.”

Baldelli cautioned it’s still early in spring training and Wallner as a leadoff hitter is just “a concept in action right now.”

Still, Wallner has traits the Twins want in a hitter atop their lineup. He posted a .371 on-base percentage over the past two seasons. He has a high strikeout rate, as expected for a hitter with as much power as him, but he had one of the higher walk rates on the team, and he’s typically hit by a lot of pitches.

“Over the last two seasons, you look at his body of work, he’s been as good of a hitter as we have,” Baldelli said. “Overall, he gets on base and hits balls hard. ... It’s not traditional, but if he does it, I think it has a chance to be really effective.”

The Twins used 10 different players as their leadoff batter last season. Willi Castro did it the most (48 starts), and Edouard Julien and Manuel Margot were the only other players with more than 30 starts atop the lineup.

Using two righthanded hitters between Wallner and Larnach could be a way to discourage teams from using a lefty relief specialist against their top lefty bats.

“Correa and Buck hit back to back, and they can face anyone and do a good job,” Baldelli said. “Breaking up those lefties [Wallner and Larnach], maybe it asks the opposing team to answer a question in a different way than the way we posed it before.”

The Twins tallied 10 hits through the first four innings Friday, and 16 hits total, during their 13-10 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Hammond Stadium. Buxton had a three-hit game, which included a line-drive double to left field, while Larnach smacked a two-run, 395-foot homer that cleared the seats in right field.

But the Orioles scored eight runs in the ninth inning to earn a comeback win.

Julien and Brooks Lee added two hits apiece. Buxton and Lewis added their first stolen bases of the spring.

Colombia will face Brazil, China and Germany over three days. The top team in the pool play advances to the 2026 WBC while the second- and third-place teams will face each other for the final spot Thursday.

“As a professional baseball player, one of the dreams is to make it to the major leagues and stay there,” said Camargo, a 25-year-old catcher. “At the same time, you want to make your family proud and your country proud. This is a shot I have to help my country to achieve some different stuff and show the world what Colombian players can do.”

Camargo, who made his major league debut and appeared in five games with the Twins last year, is expected to start the season at Class AAA. As the WBC qualifier approached, he started hearing more from friends in Colombia.

“Man, I’ve been getting texts all the time,” Camargo said. “My family, they’re excited and happy. We actually had a FaceTime call [Wednesday] with all the [players]. We’re pumped up to see each other and start this thing.”

Joe Ryan threw 38 pitches across two simulated innings in a live batting practice session Friday. He drew whiffs with his fastball and sweeper, but Harrison Bader lined a homer to left field when he was sitting on a fastball in their third at-bat against each other.