Tag: Kaelen Culpepper

Twins minor league players of the week are Kaelen Culpepper & Dasan Hill

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita infielder Kaelen Culpepper and Low-A Fort Myers left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Kaelen Culpepper, Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Culpepper, 22, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .367 (11-for-30) with one triple, two home runs, seven RBI and a 1.00 OPS. The organization’s fifth overall prospect and number 77 in all of MLB was selected by the Twins in the first round (21st overall) out of Kansas State University. Culpepper has been flying up the minor leagues rating scale this year.

Dasan Hill

Hill, 19, made the start for the Mighty Mussels last Saturday, pitching 4.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and three strikeouts. The club’s ninth overall prospect (3rd ranked pitcher) was selected by the Twins in the second round (69th overall) in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Grapevine High School in Grapevine, TX. Just promoted to High A Cedar Rapids. I can’t wait to see some of these LHP join the Twins starting rotation.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-7-2025.PDF

Twins draft history

A Decade of First-Round Picks: Minnesota Twins (2015–2024)

From high-school phenoms to polished college bats, Minnesota’s first-round haul over the last ten years has been a roller-coaster of hopes, breakthroughs and what-ifs. The Derek Falvey regime took over in 2017. Here’s the year-by-year rundown:

2015 – Tyler Jay, LHP (Illinois, College) MLB Debut: 2024 (with the New York Mets) Status: Never threw a Major-League inning for Minnesota; debuted after release.

2016 – Alex Kirilloff, OF (Plum High School, PA) MLB Debut: 2021 Status: Retired in October 2024 due to chronic injuries; slashed .248/.327/.412 in 249 games.

2017 – Royce Lewis, SS (JSerra Catholic High School, CA) MLB Debut: 2022 Status: Core infielder and rising star—30+ homers in his first 150 games. That said, injuries have limited him to 188 games over four seasons.

2018 – Trevor Larnach, OF (Oregon State, College) MLB Debut: 2021 Status: Regular role player in the corner outfield; average-defense and a developing bat.

2019 – Keoni Cavaco, SS (Eastlake High School, CA) MLB Debut: — Status: Converted to pitcher in the Minors, released in 2024 without reaching Double-A.

2020 – Aaron Sabato, 1B (University of North Carolina, College) MLB Debut: — Status: Struggling in the Minors (.199 average in ’24); reached AAA St. Paul in 2025. Free-agent candidate.

2021 – Chase Petty, RHP (Mainland Regional High School, NJ) MLB Debut: — Status: Traded to Cincinnati in 2022; pitching in Double-A.

2022 – Brooks Lee, SS (Cal Poly, College) MLB Debut: 2024 Status: Made the Twins team out of Spring Training in 2025 but started on the IL; lauded for bat-to-ball skills and defensive polish.

2023 – Walker Jenkins, OF (South Brunswick High School, NC) MLB Debut: — Status: Top organizational prospect; has power and speed. The bad news he has been injured too frequently and the Twins bring him back slowly to protect him.

2024 – Kaelen Culpepper, SS (Kansas State, College) MLB Debut: — Status: In Double-A; praised for plate discipline and versatile glove work. Surprise of 2025 Twins minor league system?

Continue reading Twins draft history

Twins minor league players of the week

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris and High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Kaelen Culpepper as the club’s minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Andrew Morris

Morris, 23, made the start for the Saints last Sunday at Iowa, pitching 5 shutout innings, with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high eight strikeouts. The New York, NY native was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. He is the club’s ninth overall prospect, per MLB.com.

Kaelen Culpepper

Kaelen Culpepper, 22, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .389 (7-for-18) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, four walks and a 1.167 OPS. The Memphis, TN native was selected 21st overall by the Twins in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Kansas State University. He is the club’s fourth overall prospect, per MLB.com.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-26-2025.PDF