Former Southern Miss standout Matt Wallner has earned himself a spot in Saturday’s MLB Futures Game.
Wallner, a 24-year-old outfielder drafted 39th overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2019, was enjoying a stellar year with Double-A Wichita prior to being promoted to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday. In 82 games this season, Wallner is hitting .292 with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs.
Ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Twins organization, Wallner recently explained to WDAM how being a Golden Eagle helped him get this far.
“[Southern Miss] is where I matured as a person and being around the same people who are good, consistent leaders and genuine leaders for that amount of time, I think is just important in life,” Wallner said. “I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”
It’s been a breakout year for @Matt_Wallner, batting .292 with 21 HRs and 59 RBI for the Wind Surge and earning a spot in Saturday’s MLB Futures Game.
A major stop in Wallner’s baseball journey were his 3 years at #USM, time he doesn’t take for granted.@SouthernMissBSB #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/1YpshhWGjU
— Taylor Curet (@TaylorCuret) July 12, 2022
Mississippi Braves pitcher Jared Shuster will also be playing in the 2022 MLB Futures Game. First pitch is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on Peacock and Sirius XM before being re-aired by MLB Network at 8 a.m. CT on Sunday.
