Kaelen

Culpepper

Culpepper was officially placed on the minor league injured list on Tuesday with a glute strain. It’s the same hip-related issue that forced him to miss time last month. The 23-year-old has certainly shown enough on the doorstep of the majors to warrant a call-up to the big leagues, but that won’t happen until he’s healthy again. He’s a worthwhile stash in deeper mixed leagues, but fantasy managers in shallow formats can probably find a better use for his roster spot.

Culpepper lobbied to stay in the game but was removed anyway. The last update was that Culpepper was being listed as day-to-day while the team awaited X-rays. As of Tuesday, July 7th, he has still not gotten into a game, so we should expect some clarity on the situation, one way or another, soon, but Culpepper himself has said the hand is not broken.

Culpepper was placed on the injured list about two weeks ago with a hip strain, and, at the time, had appeared close to a promotion. There are no longer any service time issues that the Twins need to worry about, and Luke Keaschall has begun playing the outfield, so Culpepper could be called up after the All-Star break if he gets back to producing at Triple-A. Before suffering the injury, he had gone 14-for-38 (.368) with two homers and three steals in 10 games in June.

The timing is unfortunate for Culpepper and fantasy managers since the top prospect appeared to be on the verge of arriving in Minnesota. The 23-year-old infielder has torn the cover off the ball recently, hitting .368 (14-for-38) with two homers and three steals in 10 games since the start of June. He’s launched 14 homers and collected 15 steals through 61 games for Triple-A St. Paul this season. It feels like only a matter of time before he takes over as the club’s shortstop of the future, but this injury will certainly delay his arrival until later this summer.

Culpepper’s latest homer was a 395-foot opposite-field shot to right-center that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Minnesota has ostensibly cleared the runway for him to arrive in the majors as their shortstop of the present and future by moving Brooks Lee over to third base. The 23-year-old former first-round pick is hitting .467 (7-for-15) with two homers and one steal in four games since the start of June. He’s slashing .270/.374/.500 with 14 round-trippers and 13 thefts across 55 games overall. Needless to say, he’s one of the more intriguing stash candidates in the minors for fantasy managers given his power/speed combo and proximity to the big leagues.

The Twins’ top prospect now has 13 home runs and 38 RBI on the season to go along with a .261 batting average and .851 OPS. He hit .280/.4076/.540 in May with seven home runs, 21 RBI, seven steals, and a 22/19 K/BB ratio. It sure seems like he’s ready for his MLB debut.

Lee is making his sixth consecutive start at the hot corner as Minnesota appears to be preparing for the inevitable arrival of 2024 first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper as their shortstop of the future. The 23-year-old top prospect is hitting .247/.349/.473 with 11 homers and 11 steals in 218 plate appearances over 46 games for Triple-A St. Paul this season. Lee’s transition to third base seems to signal that the Twins are likely done with Royce Lewis as a long-term option at the position. It’s a stunning development given how potent Lewis looked as a burgeoning offensive force earlier in his career before injuries derailed his promising career.

This is noteworthy because Culpepper is primarily a shortstop, but the Twins have an opening at third base with Royce Lewis having been optioned to the minors today. The Twins seem to be priming Culpepper to take that spot. The 23-year-old is slashing .253/.346/.469 in 39 games at Triple-A with nine home runs, 30 RBI, and nine steals. He’s a potential 20/20 player who could hit .240 at the MLB level this season, which means he’s a player fantasy managers should be looking to stash if you have the space.

At some point, the Twins are going to have to give intriguing infield prospect Kaelen Culpepper, who is tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A St. Paul recently, a look at the highest level. The obvious move would be to jettison Royce Lewis from third base, especially since he’s hitting .165 overall this season. However, it’s worth noting that Keaschall is hitting just .224/.306/.292 with one homer and 10 steals through 44 games. The 23-year-old former top prospect hit at every rung of the minor-league ladder and looked impressive during last year’s injury-shortened rookie campaign.

The Twins’ top offensive prospect has now homered three times in his last four games, which gives him eight home runs on the year to go along with seven steals. In six games in May, he’s hitting .333/.481/.857 with three home runs, nine RBI, two steals, and a 1/5 K/BB ratio. Culpper has mainly played shortstop this season, but has also started five games at third base and two games at second base, so there are plenty of ways the Twins could get him up into their big league infield.