ARLINGTON, Texas — Long before he began to consistently do damage at the plate and discovered a route to the majors, Kyler Fedko was known for making solid contact and good swing decisions. He was also on the verge of unemployment.“His career was on life support multiple times,” Minnesota Twins assistant general manager Alex Hassan said.Earlier this week, the Twins promoted their rookie outfielder, who earned his ticket to the big leagues by massively overhauling his swing before the 2025 season. By participating in a bat-speed program and drastically altering his approach, Fedko turned himself from a light-hitting player with no prospects into a power hitter with a path.As he stood near the railing of the visiting dugout at Globe Life Field on Tuesday evening, Fedko was proud of his major-league status, given where he found himself just two and a half years earlier, before the Twins approached him with honesty and an idea.“If I’m going to be a corner outfielder, I’ve got to put the ball over the fence and slug,” Fedko said. “Two years ago, they told me that’s what has to happen. They told me what I needed to do. If you don’t, you know what happens. … Hard truth is very, very good at this level.”Though the words might have been harsh, Fedko already knew a change was needed. Twice in his career, Fedko was placed on the development list, a designation that usually means a player is nearing the end.Fedko, 26, thought he might be done in spring training 2024.He expected to start the 2024 season at Double-A Wichita after producing an OPS above .800 in each of the previous two seasons. But during the exhibition season, Fedko was assigned to the High-A Cedar Rapids roster and couldn’t even crack the starting lineup.Will White Sox, Cardinals and Nationals buy or sell at the trade deadline?Ken Rosenthal“If they put you down a level and you’re not even starting, I knew I could be released tomorrow,” Fedko said. “That’s where it was at, backing up a High-A game.”Fedko was in that precarious position through no fault of his own. He simply didn’t know any better.His bat-to-ball skills, good decision-making, and low strikeout rate earned Fedko a scholarship to play at the University of Connecticut. Those skills also led the Twins to select Fedko in the 12th round of the 2021 amateur draft.But that skill set was no longer beneficial to him in the pros, not as a first baseman and corner outfielder.“He had to be driving the ball better,” Hassan said. “Generally, there needs to be more power that comes along with (those positions). We were honest with him about that, and he went all in.”The message was simple and direct.We need you to change everything you’ve been doing. If you do, and it works out, you’ve got a shot at reaching the big leagues. If you don’t, you probably won’t.The Twins asked Fedko to participate in a bat-speed program in which players use a lighter bat and swing as hard as they can in the cage. Next, they repeat the swing against a pitching machine. Then, the player picks up a regular bat and swings as hard as he can.Fedko embraced the plan and felt a difference immediately.“I kind of just burst on the scene last year,” Fedko said about a season in which he hit 28 home runs and stole 38 bases between Wichita and St. Paul.Though Fedko said he recently slowed down the bat program as he dealt with an oblique issue, that technique, along with a change in the windows in which he looks for pitches to hit, has allowed him to hit with authority.This season, Fedko was hitting .286/.372/.578 with 15 home runs in 239 plate appearances at Triple-A St. Paul. In 269 minor-league games between 2021 and 2024, Fedko hit 19 homers.“When they give you goals to hit, that makes it a lot easier,” Fedko said. “You know what you have to do as opposed to a guessing game. Them saying, ‘If you do this, this and this, you’ll be in a great spot.’ Knowing that going into offseasons, going into game, and preparing to do that, it makes it way easier.”Kyler Fedko knew he had to make a change when he found himself demoted to High A. “If they put you down a level and you’re not even starting, I knew I could be released tomorrow,” he said. (Jerome Miron / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)The plan’s success made it easy for the Twins to promote Fedko to the big leagues. His contract was selected on Monday, and he started that night against the Texas Rangers.“We talk about meritocracy, we talk about playing well, we talk about coming back — Feddy has done that,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s pushed his way to the big leagues.”How much time Fedko has to prove himself in the big leagues is anybody’s guess, but it might not be long.Last May, the Twins promoted Carson McCusker after he blasted 29 homers from the start of the 2024 season through the first month of 2025 between Wichita and St. Paul. A defensive liability in the outfield, McCusker started twice, played five games total and accrued just six plate appearances before he was sent back down.Even when he returned in August after the trade deadline, McCusker, who is playing in Japan this season, only got 24 more plate appearances, striking out in half of them.Knowing that nothing is promised, Fedko is intent on showing the Twins what he can do. Starting and batting sixth against left-hander MacKenzie Gore in Monday’s 4-2 victory, Fedko didn’t cheat himself in his first major-league at-bat, swinging hard all the way before striking out.The next time up, Fedko fouled off several pitches, nearly parachuting one in for a hit down the right-field line. Ultimately, Gore dropped in a 2-2 curveball at the top of the zone for a called third strike. Fedko flew out in the sixth inning and grounded out to shortstop in the ninth, nearly earning an infield single.On Tuesday, Fedko entered in the ninth inning of a blowout victory and flew out to deep left field against Texas catcher Kyle Higashioka, the play resulting in a sacrifice fly and an RBI.Though he’s brand-new, Fedko promises not to be timid even when he’s facing major-league pitching.“(Strikeouts) are going to happen,” Fedko said before Tuesday’s game. “(Gore) didn’t make many mistakes. That’s not going to stop me from being on offense in the box. I’m going to try to take every single pitcher deep. That’s my game now. That’s what got me here, and I’m never gonna change.”