Twins Minor League Report (6/4): Kaelen Culpepper Did What?!?

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of David Malamut

TRANSACTIONS
There were multiple moves on Wednesday that had ripple effects across the organization.

• 2B Jose Salas assigned to Wichita from Cedar Rapids.
• 3B Jay Thomason assigned to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers.
• 3B Armando Alvarez released by St. Paul. 
• SS Tanner Schobel assigned to St. Paul from Wichita. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
Saints 7, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5
Box Scor
St. Paul scored two runs in the eighth inning to squeak out a victory, despite being out hit 11-to-8. Payton Eeles was electric out of the lead-off spot going 3-for-4 with three runs, two steals and a walk. Mickey Gasper, Edouard Julien and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. each drove in a pair of runs. Gasper was the lone Saints batter with an extra-base hit as he cracked two doubles and has 10 on the season at Triple-A. St. Paul left 12 men on base, but still found a way to win. 

On the mound, Randy Dobnak started and scattered five hits over four innings. He allowed one earned run while walking one and striking out one. He threw 67 pitches and 40 were strikes. Kyle Bischoff and Richard Lovelady combined for three shutout innings to end the game. It was Bischoff’s fourth win and Lovelady’s fourth save. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 6, Wichita 5 (11 Innings)
Box Score
Wichita scored four runs in the third inning to take the lead but it wasn’t enough and lost in extra innings. Ricardo Olivar led the way offensively with two home runs. He smacked a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo shot in the fifth. Kala’i Rosario went 3-for-5 with a double. Aaron Sabato has reached base in 22 straight games with two walks in this one. 

John Klein made only his second start of the season. In three innings, he allowed three runs on three hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Ricky Castro tied a season-high with five strikeouts. He pitched four innings of relief and allowed one run on five hits. John Stankiewicz pitched a scoreless eighth inning to keep the game close. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 8, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score
Cedar Rapids entered the game on a five game winning streak and Kaelen Culpepper got the game started with a lead off home run. In the top of the fourth, Brandon Winokur crushed a 113 MPH homer to cut the lead to 4-2. However, that’s as close as Cedar Rapids would get. 

Jose Olivares started and allowed six earned runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Hunter Hoopes made his High-A debut after being called up earlier in the week from Fort Myers. He pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout. 

Cedar Rapids 15, Wisconsin 2
Box Score
Culpepper hit a leadoff homer for the second game in a row and this time the Kernels were off and running. Winokur continued his hot hitting too. He finished game two by going 2-for-3 with his 13th double. Danny De Andrade led the team with five RBI as he had a double and a triple to combine for five total bases. 

The 15 runs of support were more than enough for starter Cole Peschl. In his third Cedar Rapids outing, Peschl collected his second consecutive win, allowing just a run on two hits with four strikeouts across five innings of work. Samuel Perez finished the game by allowing one unearned run over two innings. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Palm Beach 8, Fort Myers 1
Box Score
Eli Jones retired five straight batters to start the game but things fell apart from there. He failed to make it out of the second inning as the Cardinals plated five runs on four hits against him. His early exit snapped a streak of four consecutive starts of at least five innings for him. Jakob Hall, Josh Bortka, and Peyton Carr combined for six shutout innings to end the game. Bortka struck out four in two innings of work and threw 20 of his 23 pitches for strikes.

Fort Myers only managed four hits and no players recorded an extra-base knock. Miguel Briceno and Yohander Martinez each reached base twice. Caleb McNeely drove in the only run of the game with a two-out hit in the bottom of the sixth. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cole Peschl, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 K, 1 BB)
Hitter of the Day – Kaelen Culpepper, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-6, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Wednesday.

#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 4-for-6, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
#11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-6, 1 R, 1 RBI, 5 K
#14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 0-for-6, 2 K
#17 – Tanner Schobel (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
#19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 0-for-2, 1 R, 1 BB
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 3-for-9, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Marco Raya (0-3, 9.26 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (4:05 PM CDT) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 1.31 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin, Game 1 (6:40 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-3, 7.98 ERA)
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk (2-2, 5.35 ERA)
DSL Rangers @ DSL Twins (11:00 AM CDT) - TBD
FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CDT) - TBD

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[LambchoP]

If Eeles continues to get on base at a good rate and can play solid defense at 2nd or 3rd, maybe they should give him a shot in the bigs. I haven't been impressed at all with Brooks Lee. He is good defensively, but at the plate he just doesn't hit with much authority. The last month or so it seems everything he hits is on the ground. Hopefully Keaschal can be back soon and continue where he left off 

[rdehring]

Sure seems like Culpepper has a chance to be another strong candidate for a future Twins infield.  Will he be better than the current group of former can't miss prospects?

Also great seeing Winokur with a 4-6 day with a home run and double.  After a slow, slow start, the kid has been heating up of late.

[Mike Sixel]

What position did Culpeper, DeAndrade and winokur play? I guess I could look....

[Cody Christie]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

What position did Culpeper, DeAndrade and winokur play? I guess I could look....

Culpepper can play shortstop and third.
Winokur plays shortstop, center, and some third.
De Andrade has been playing second and third. 
Lots of versatility in that group. 

[Cody Christie]

6 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Also great seeing Winokur with a 4-6 day with a home run and double.  After a slow, slow start, the kid has been heating up of late.

Winokur was also a high school draft pick so he is young for Cedar Rapids. He turned 20 in December so he is over two years younger than the average age of the competition in the Midwest League. He's only faced younger pitchers in 11 plate appearances this season. 

[Cody Christie]

28 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

If Eeles continues to get on base at a good rate and can play solid defense at 2nd or 3rd, maybe they should give him a shot in the bigs. I haven't been impressed at all with Brooks Lee. He is good defensively, but at the plate he just doesn't hit with much authority. The last month or so it seems everything he hits is on the ground. Hopefully Keaschal can be back soon and continue where he left off 

I think the Twins will want him to get comfortable coming off the injury. He will be an option in the second half if they need him.

[DJL44]

48 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

If Eeles continues to get on base at a good rate and can play solid defense at 2nd or 3rd, maybe they should give him a shot in the bigs.

Eeles is too small to play 3B. The last time a player that short played more than 30 innings at 3B was over 100 years ago. He's 2B/LF like Altuve. I think he's an interesting player to trade at the deadline.

[Trov]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Eeles is too small to play 3B. The last time a player that short played more than 30 innings at 3B was over 100 years ago. He's 2B/LF like Altuve. I think he's an interesting player to trade at the deadline.

Just to make MLB at his height is rare.  He is even shorter than Altuve.  I am big on Eeles as an underdog guy to prove people wrong that someone of his height cannot play.  His height will be little issue at 3B if he has the arm or quick enough for the range.  I agree he will most likely be stuck at 2B.  However, he has shown a great ability to get on base at all levels even after his surgery this year.  

I doubt he is dealt at the deadline for much.  He is nearly 26, no real prospect thought.  If he gets dealt it is either as an extra piece, or for a low end pen guy. 

[Cody Christie]

5 minutes ago, Trov said:

I doubt he is dealt at the deadline for much.  He is nearly 26, no real prospect thought.  If he gets dealt it is either as an extra piece, or for a low end pen guy. 

I agree. I don't think he will have any value as a trade chip because of his age. 

[Linus]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

What position did Culpeper, DeAndrade and winokur play? I guess I could look....

I check this a lot because I am interested as well. Culpepper is playing mostly SS. Winokur plays SS when Culpepper doesn’t and CF most of the rest of the time. DeBarge has played a lot of 2nd and centerfield and little SS. DeAndrade has played all over in kind of a varied utility role. I can’t recall the last time there were this many legit infield prospects on one team. 

[twinstalker]

9 hours ago, rdehring said:

Sure seems like Culpepper has a chance to be another strong candidate for a future Twins infield.  Will he be better than the current group of former can't miss prospects?

Also great seeing Winokur with a 4-6 day with a home run and double.  After a slow, slow start, the kid has been heating up of late.

I know of no can't-miss prospects on the Twins infield, other than what Keaschall has become.  Lewis was only can't-miss in Twins goggles terms.  Culpepper is definitely  not can't-miss, either, as he's as old as his high A competition.  Prospects taking normal routes aren't as old as their competition.

Not that anybody is asking, but Schobel has more or less proven he's not a true prospect.  I wouldn't let anybody like him take PT away from Eeles.  Eeles has done nothing but succeed.  He may not be a real prospect, but I'd see if I were the Twins.  I still rate him in my top ten ahead of K. Culpepper and DeBarge for now.

 

[Ghost of Kirby Puckett]

5 hours ago, twinstalker said:

I know of no can't-miss prospects on the Twins infield, other than what Keaschall has become.  Lewis was only can't-miss in Twins goggles terms.  Culpepper is definitely  not can't-miss, either, as he's as old as his high A competition.  Prospects taking normal routes aren't as old as their competition.

Not that anybody is asking, but Schobel has more or less proven he's not a true prospect.  I wouldn't let anybody like him take PT away from Eeles.  Eeles has done nothing but succeed.  He may not be a real prospect, but I'd see if I were the Twins.  I still rate him in my top ten ahead of K. Culpepper and DeBarge for now.

 

He may not be a real prospect is about the only thing of value here, because he isn't. And Aaron Judge as the extreme example here but I use him because his age and he was a first rd pick, disagrees with your prospect/age theory. I remember fondly people saying the same things about him when I was living in NY 10-15 years ago. Nevermind he just kept grinding, kept playing, like Culpepper, kept slowly climbing prospect lists until debuting in' '16 and slugging a HR his first game. 

I'm going to assume you're the same Twinstalker I've been reading for 15-20 years on various sites and I'm 100% positive I've read the same takes on virtually every Twins prospect over that time period. If I had a dollar for every time you've dumped on Wallner or ________, and told us he is trash, or too old for his level, I could buy this website And yet, Matt kept grinding, kept hitting 114 mph scorchers and incrementally lowering his k rate and throwing darts from RF and here we sit, that old ass former not a prospect(or whatever you'd call him) who had no chance because man, he is just too old to be a player or prospect right? What's his OPS today? Last couple years? Because I've got a couple dozen posts where you flat out dump on the guy and remind us he has zero chance, he is an AAAA player. This wouldn't bother me if it wasn't your only take over the last couple decades. I'm honestly not even sure why you're a fan of the Twins, lol,

[Jeff K]

Culpepper is ready for AA.  As for not being a legit prospect...nonsense.  No one is a guaranteed ML player, but the guy has a real chance.

[DJL44]

20 hours ago, Cody Christie said:

I agree. I don't think he will have any value as a trade chip because of his age. 

Either a team believes Eeles can play at MLB (and he has trade value) or they don't (and he doesn't). His age is perfectly normal for a player at AAA.