Trevor

Larnach

It’s a rare day off for Larnach with an opposing right-hander on the hill. Ryan Kreidler will start in his place in left field and will bat eighth for the Twins against Royals’ right-hander Michael Wacha on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Larnach put Minnesota ahead with a 424-foot no-doubter to right field off Pirates starter Jared Jones in the third inning. It was his third long ball of the season and first time leaving the yard since May 16. He’s been unusually hot of late, hitting .346 (9-for-26) over his last seven games.

Larnach enjoyed an excellent day at the plate, starting with a base hit and a run scored in the first inning. He added a double in the third, then singled and scored again in the fifth. Larnach collected his fourth hit of the day with a single in the sixth. The four-hit game raises his batting average from .248 entering the day to .271 with two homers and 20 runs scored over 141 plate appearances. A lower strikeout rate has come with a significant drop in his hard-hit rate this season, signaling a change to a more contact-oriented approach for the 29-year-old outfielder.

Larnach is back in left field and hitting cleanup following a three-game absence due to upper-back tightness. The 29-year-old outfielder has been an on-base machine this season, slashing .268/.398/.381 with one homer, 11 RBI and two steals in 33 games.

Larnach has missed three straight games with the lingering issue. Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters Larnach has resumed baseball activities and should be available this weekend. It sounds like he’s trending in the right direction and fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day.

Larnach, arguably the Twins’ best hitter at .265/.468/.412 this season, was up with runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth today, only to lose his at-bat on an ill-fated double-steal that saw Brooks Lee get easily retired on the throw back home by Elly De La Cruz. That might have been pretty big in what ended up being an extra-inning loss.

Larnach got a rare start against a left-handed pitcher on Saturday, batting seven against Eric Lauer. He capped off a seven-run inning for the Twins with a three-run blast off Lauer for his first homer of the season. The 29-year-old outfielder had just one home run over 106 at-bats against left-handed pitching in 2025. Larnach is hitting .273/.448/.500 with five runs and five RBI across just 29 plate appearances as the Twins have faced a lefty-heavy schedule in the early going.

Larnach was scratched from Sunday’s game due to soreness in his left side, but it never seemed like a major concern. If he is able to play without issue on Friday, then he seems all but a lock to make the Opening Day roster.

While it doesn’t sound like anything overly serious, there are only 11 days remaining until Opening Day, so every day missed is critical at this stage. If it doesn’t clear up in the next few days, there’s a chance that the 29-year-old slugger may need to open the season on the injured list. It’s a situation to monitor as the next week unfolds, especially with Larnach’s history of oblique issues.

Wallner was hitting sixth today against lefty Steven Matz. In his previous three starts against righties, he hit cleanup twice but also sixth once, with Trevor Larnach hitting cleanup then. One hopes Wallner will be hitting ahead of Larnach against righties in the regular season. Even in a down 2025, Wallner still out OPS+'d Larnach 110 to 99. Wallner has a 129 OPS+ the last three years, compared to 104 for Larnach. Wallner should also have a better chance of remaining in the Twins lineup than Larnach when the team is facing a lefty.