Austin Martin entered the 2025 season knowing his role was limited—platooning in left field, primarily against left-handed pitchers. But as luck would have it, the Twins faced a steady stream of lefties in April, giving Martin the consistent at-bats he needed to find his rhythm and confidence at the plate. Now, less than two months into the season, he's played his way right out of that platoon role and into a much bigger opportunity.

The Twins made that clear when they sent Matt Wallner back to Triple-A on Thursday. While the move was partly about getting the struggling right fielder back on track, manager Derek Shelton acknowledged a bigger reason: Martin deserves to play every day. "He's just having really good, consistent at-bats," Shelton said. "I think you'd be hard-pressed to say that beside maybe Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers, he's not our best at-bat every night. And you put yourself in a situation where you deserve the opportunity to play every day, and he has done that."

Martin entered Friday's series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers hitting .333 with a .454 on-base percentage. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, those numbers would rank fourth and first, respectively, among all major leaguers—a remarkable turnaround for a player who was the last position player cut in spring training last year. That season got off to a rough start when he injured his hamstring just days into his Triple-A stint, then reinjured it immediately upon returning. But after recovering and getting called up in August—right around the time the Twins traded away about 40% of their major league roster—Martin became one of the few bright spots in a lost season, slashing .282/.374/.365 over the final two months.

"Something that I've always said and stuck with is, I just need an opportunity," Martin said. "I feel like I've played and kind of earned that a little bit. So at this point, it's not really anything more that I need to do. It's more so just continuing to be myself and continue to be a professional with how I go about my business."

Now, he's getting an even greater chance. While Martin may still see time in left and center field, he'll primarily man right field for the foreseeable future. "I'm just playing my game," he said. "I feel comfortable. I feel confident. I'm playing how I play."