Twins slugger Matt Wallner on track to begin rehab assignment this week

Wallner, like Royce Lewis before him, will probably need to get several games in with the Saints before the Twins feel comfortable bringing him back to the big leagues. But the start of a rehab assignment is a big step that suggests he could potentially be back in Minnesota's lineup before the end of the month, assuming all goes well.

Prior to getting hurt, Wallner was putting up his typical excellent numbers at the plate. In the first 18 games of the season, he hit .264 with eight extra-base hits and an .847 OPS that leads all Twins players with at least 50 plate appearances this year (sorry, Luke Keaschall and Kody Clemens).

In his Twins career, which spans 187 games and 647 PAs, Wallner has put up an .864 OPS with 30 home runs, 91 RBI, and over half of his hits going for extra bases. His career OPS+ is 138, which means he's been 38 percent better than a league-average hitter. Despite a high strikeout rate, Wallner's elite bat speed and batted-ball metrics (plus a high on-base percentage) make him a very valuable slugger. He hit leadoff for the Twins throughout spring training this year and in 13 of his first 16 regular season starts.

Wallner is also a solid defender in the corner outfield spots who possesses one of the strongest throwing arms in the league.

McCusker set for first career start

Carson McCusker, the recently-promoted Triple-A slugger who resembles a right-handed Wallner in some respects, will make his first MLB start for the Twins on Monday night. He's playing right field and hitting seventh against Guardians left-handed starter Logan Allen (in a game that could be threatened by rain in the forecast in Minneapolis).

"It played out perfectly for him to get in the lineup and go bop a few," Rocco Baldelli said pregame about the Twins facing a lefty. "That's what he does. We're always in the business of scoring runs and that's a guy who could lead us to a few of them."

It's a 6:40 p.m. CT game at Target Field.

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