Twins Minor League Report (6/20): Kaelen Culpepper Promoted to Wichita

[Tom Froemming]

Image courtesy of David Malamut

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 37-38
St. Paul Saints: 32-39
Wichita Wind Surge: 37-30
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 40-27
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-37
FCL Twins: 22-11
DSL Twins: 2-11

TRANSACTIONS

With Cedar Rapids having clinched a first half title, Kaelen Culpepper was promoted up to Wichita. He hit .293/.385/.479 (.864 OPS) with a 16.2 K%, 10.5 BB% and 15 steals on 17 attempts while providing strong defense at shortstop for the Kernels. This move is a bit of a homecoming for Culpepper. Though he’s originally from Memphis, the 22-year-old played his college ball at Kansas State, which is only a little over two hours from Wichita.

Culpepper did not make his Wind Surge debut this evening. Check back in tomorrow.

The St. Paul Saints activated SS Ryan Fitgerald from the 7-day IL and sent veteran RHP Erasmo Ramírez on a rehab assignment to the FCL Twins. Fitzgerald has been an excellent minor league signing by the Twins, as he’s posted an .845 OPS in 47 games with the Saints and even made a couple of appearances on the big club. Ramírez has more than 300 MLB games to his credit, but he’s missed this entire season to date with a shoulder injury.

The Wind Surge placed LF Tyler Dearden on the Development List.

 

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Toledo 18, St. Paul 7
Box Score

Welp, at least the Saints hit a buncha homers. Carson McCusker hit his 14th home run of the season, Eduard Julien went deep in a three-hit night and Saints newcomers Noah Cardenas and Aaron Sabato each hit their second homers since being promoted.

On the other hand, St. Paul pitching only surrendered a pair of home runs. They just gave up loads of everything else. Toledo racked up 16 hits, eight walks and were a bonkers 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Former Twins great Manny Margot was 3-for-6 and Akil Baddoo hit a couple doubles and drew three walks for Toledo.

Saints starter Darren McCaughan gave up nine runs over three innings and things didn’t get any better from there for the St. Paul pitching staff.

 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 7, Arkansas 2
Box Score
It’s not often you see an honest to goodness straight steal of home these days. Typically, it’s done on a double steal where the runner going to second draws a throw while the other runner scampers home. Well, Ben Ross straight-up stole home tonight on a return throw from the catcher back to the pitcher.

 

Ross was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and stole three bases tonight, giving him 10 steals on the season. Walker Jenkins also had a hit and two walks, though he “only” stole two bases. Gabriel Gonzalez had a three-hit night and chipped in a steal of his own, giving the Wind Surge six stolen bases.

C.J. Culpepper made his second start since rejoining Wichita. He struck out six batters over 3 2/3 innings of work, but also walked three. Culpepper only surrendered one earned run, the first he’s given up in 11 2/3 innings on the season. Mike Paredes improved to 8-0 on the season after providing 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball. He has a 2.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the year over 52 2/3 innings for the Wind Surge.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Beloit 6, Cedar Rapids 5
Box Score
Maddux Houghton, who is known for his defense, made a great play in center field. He went a long way, left his feet, and slammed into the wall while making the catch.

 

Houghton also got the Kernels on the board with his bat, hitting a two-run double in seventh inning. The Kernels put together a five-run rally in the frame to take the lead, but couldn’t hang on to win it. 

With Culpepper on his way to Wichita, Brandon Winokur hit leadoff and started at shortstop. It was Winokur’s 16th start there so far this season. He’s made 39 starts in center field, eight at third base and two as the designated hitter. Winokur was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, though he did reach on an error and scored a run.

Jacob Kisting, a 14th-round pick in last year’s draft, delivered 2 1/3 of scoreless, hitless ball out of the bullpen. He’s yet to surrender a run in three outings since being promoted to Cedar Rapids earlier this month.

 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 5
Box Score

What a comeback! The Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the top of the seventh inning, but the Mighty Mussels showed some mighty mettle.

Fort Myers loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning and managed to scratch across two runs. The eighth inning got off to a less encouraging start, as their first two batters struck out. Daniel Pena drew a two-out walk, then Jefferson Valladares hit his fourth home run of the season to bring the Mussels within one run of Lakeland.

The game-winning rally in the bottom of the ninth inning got started with a Dameury Pena walk. He advanced to third on a double from Billy Amick, who is on a rehab assignment. Angel Del Rosario came in to pinch run for Amick, and the extra speed on the bases paid off. Yasser Mercedes finished off the comeback by hitting a grounder through the drawn-in infield and into center. Pena scored the game-tying run and Del Rosario raced around third to give Fort Myers a walk-off win to open the second half of their season.

 

Hopefully this is a page-turning victory for Fort Myers, who were 27-37 in the first half, and a page-turning start for Adrian Bohorquez. The 20-year-old Venezuelan struck out eight batters over four innings of work. He surrendered two runs (one earned) on two hits and walked one batter. Bohorquez topped out at 97.5 mph and got 13 swinging strikes, nine of them with his fastball.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 8, FCL Red Sox 6
Box Score

The middle infield duo of Daiber De Los Santos and Ramiro Dominguez carried the Twins in this one. They each had a pair of hits and drove in three runs. De Los Santos, who collected two doubles, also stole his 10th base of the season. 

Erasmo Ramírez made his Twins system debut, pitching a perfect first inning with a strikeout. He was signed to a minor league deal in mid-February and is working his way back from a torn shoulder. 

 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Rangers Blue 9, DSL Twins 4
Box Score

 

It’s been a tough go for the DSL Twins, but Santiago Castellanos has been a bright spot. The 16-year-old right-hander gave up a couple runs over four innings, seeing his ERA balloon to 1.86. There are much older and more developed pitchers in the system not completing four innings on a regular basis, so this is a great sign for the young product of Venezuela.

Another bright spot for the Twins today was Yovanny Duran. He reached safely three times and stole three bases. Jose Barrios hit his first professional home run. Yes, the Twins really have a guy in the system named Jose Barrios. 

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Adrian Bohorquez, Fort Myers (4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)
Hitter of the Day: Yasser Mercedes, Fort Myers (2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB, walk-off single)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, K, 2 SB (4)
9. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, R, 3 K
13. Billy Amick (rehabbing with Fort Myers): 1-for-5, 2B, K
14. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, SB (4)
15. C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
16. Eduardo Beltre (FCL): 1-for-4, BB, R
18. Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB (16), walk-off single
19. Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 1-for-5, HR (14), R, 2 RBI, K
20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 0-for-5, 2 K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Toledo, 6:37 pm CT: Cory Lewis
Wichita at Arkansas, 6:05 pm CT: TBD
Cedar Rapids at Beloit, 6:35 pm CT: Jose Olivares
Fort Myers vs. Lakeland, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
FCL Twins vs FCL Red Sox, 9 am CT: TBD
DSL Twins vs. DSL Colorado, 9 am CT: TBD

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[mikelink45]

After the Twins and Saints games it is hard to put together a good reflection.

[jmlease1]

congrats to Kaelen Culpepper on his promotion to AA! Looking forward to seeing how he does against more advanced pitching. He's done really well so far this season and has definitely improved his prospect status. He earned his way up, and I'm looking forward to having the firm of Culpepper & Culpepper at Wichita. :P

Happy to see Walker Jenkins healthy. Hope he stays that way and gets to let his talent shine. He's looked fine since coming back from the IL, and must be feeling good if he's swiping bags like this. Very impressed with the run GG is on too: he's really hard to get out right now, and I love it.

Going to be interesting to see how Sabato does in AAA. It's taken him a long time to get there, but so far he seems to be continuing on with a good season. For the first time in his career, he's making enough contact to let his power play and be a real threat. I wonder if he can get himself on to the 40-man? He's still got a lot to prove after disappointing for most of his minor league career (he's the poster child for getting promoted on scholarship before this season), but maybe he's finally figured out how to show the talent the Twins saw when they drafted him? Long way to go, but credit to him for continuing to grind. Twins could certainly use some right-handed power.

[Major League Ready]

Julien's last 70 ABs ... OPS 1.148  /  wRC+ 200

I think we will see him back with the big club by the deadline if he continues to produce at an OPS over 1.000.  Keaschall will be playing 2B so the odds go up if they can get something for France at the deadline.  Of course, this assumes they continue to suck or even if they are playing 500 ball.

[LambchoP]

Nice to see Gonzalez and Culpeper having great seasons and making it to AA. I think Gabby has a shot to get to AAA by seasons end. DeBarge and Amick have looked good down in A ball as well. Now if we could just get some of our upper level pitchers going we'd have some options for the big league club....

[rdehring]

Great seeing Culpepper move up to AA.  Will be exciting following him the rest of the season.  Expect we will know more about his prospect potential come September.

Watched the video of Ross stealing home.  Enjoyed it.  Also good seeing Jenkins with two steals last night.  Does he have elite speed?  Or won't stealing bases carry over once he gets to the Twins?

[Matt Braun]

Four steals for Jenkins already with Wichita. Could be an interesting development in his game if he continues at that pace. 

[Larry Janisewski]

2 hours ago, rdehring said:

Great seeing Culpepper move up to AA.  Will be exciting following him the rest of the season.  Expect we will know more about his prospect potential come September.

Watched the video of Ross stealing home.  Enjoyed it.  Also good seeing Jenkins with two steals last night.  Does he have elite speed?  Or won't stealing bases carry over once he gets to the Twins?

I like seeing so many steals from Twins minor league players. If only that would transpire to the Twins. Hard to believe Twins have that much more speed in the minors than the majors. Coaching philosophies??

[Linus]

2 hours ago, Larry Janisewski said:

I like seeing so many steals from Twins minor league players. If only that would transpire to the Twins. Hard to believe Twins have that much more speed in the minors than the majors. Coaching philosophies??

Me too. My guess is the higher totals are a combo of wanting them to gain experience stealing even if they get thrown out plus catchers were don’t throw as well, pitchers who don’t hold runners and are wild and infielders not as adept applying tags. The Cardinals back in the day were one of my favorite teams because they ran so much. 

[Tom Froemming]

4 hours ago, rdehring said:

Also good seeing Jenkins with two steals last night.  Does he have elite speed?  Or won't stealing bases carry over once he gets to the Twins?

Jenkins moves well, especially for his size. His speed is above average, but he may slow a bit as he ages and/or adds strength. He's been more aggressive this season, swiping six bases in 14 total games. He had 17 steals in 82 games last year.

I think a lot of his base stealing future will depend on 1) How motivated he is to make that part of his game, and 2) Whether the team will give him the green light. If he continues to get as injured as often as he has, I imagine they'll discourage him from running.

2 hours ago, Larry Janisewski said:

I like seeing so many steals from Twins minor league players. If only that would transpire to the Twins. Hard to believe Twins have that much more speed in the minors than the majors. Coaching philosophies??

Like with everything else, stealing bases is easier in the minors. I do think the Twins have prioritized speed and athleticism more in recent drafts than they had previously in the Falvey era, so that's definitely part of the picture.

Not sure on coaching differences, but it's possible. I'd imagine those coaches are mostly operating on a plan that comes from above, though. Something I find interesting is this year's Wichita team is running a lot more than the 2023 Kernels did despite having the same manager and a lot of the same personnel on both those teams.