Kaelen Culpepper Earns Futures Game Nod, Will Be Minnesota Twins’ Lone Representative

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of David Malamut

The MLB All-Star Futures Game has long been a glimpse into baseball’s future. Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Fernando Tatís Jr. all once stood on that stage, before becoming household names. This year, the Minnesota Twins will be represented by just one player at the showcase, but he is making his presence in the system impossible to ignore.

Kaelen Culpepper, the Twins’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has been named to the 2025 Futures Game roster. He will take the field at Truist Park in the suburbs near Atlanta on Saturday, July 12, at 4 p.m. ET, standing alongside many of the top prospects in the game.

It is no small honor. Every organization gets at least one player on the Futures Game roster, but some get multiple. The Detroit Tigers, for example, will be sending a trio of their rising stars: Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, and Josue Briceño. For the Twins, Culpepper will be their only participant this year, but he is an exceptionally deserving choice. When Minnesota selected Culpepper with the 21st overall pick last summer, the reaction was subdued. Many fans viewed it as a safe selection for a club already flush with infielders. That perception did not last long.

Culpepper flew through the early levels of the minors, finishing 2024 with a brief stint in High-A. In 2025, he has taken another leap forward, crushing Midwest League pitching with an .864 OPS in 54 games for Cedar Rapids before earning a promotion to Double-A Wichita last week. He has wasted no time making an impact there either, launching two home runs in his first few games and flashing his athleticism and strong arm at shortstop.

His ascent is being driven not just by raw tools, but by a mature approach at the plate. If Culpepper continues this trajectory (showing strong contact skills, good plate discipline, and reliable defense), he could realistically factor into the Twins' big-league plans by this time next year.

It is worth noting that Culpepper’s selection does not mean he is the only bright spot in the Twins’ farm system. According to Twins Daily’s latest prospect rankings, he ranks fourth. Ahead of him are talents like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, both of whom may have been strong candidates for the Futures Game had they not been sidelined by injuries. Jenkins recently returned to action in Wichita after missing time with a left ankle sprain, while Rodriguez just began a rehab stint following a June hip injury.

The Twins have had a steady pipeline from the Futures Game to the majors in recent years, with Luke Keaschall in 2024, David Festa in 2023, and Matt Wallner in 2022 each earning the nod. Culpepper becomes the latest name on that list, and if his development continues at this pace, it will not be long before he is playing under the lights at Target Field, rather than on baseball’s prospect showcase stage.

For now, he will take part in one of the sport’s most exciting annual exhibitions, surrounded by future stars and continuing to raise his stock within the game.

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[OvertheHill]

Pretty important given the fact that Correa will need to move off SS sooner rather than later. What that does to Lewis I don’t know. 1B? 

[BrokenCompass]

Cool. 

Not only is this a fun way for fans to see upcoming talent, this is a great way for MLB to basically allow clubs to open their showrooms as the trading deadline opens. Detroit's going to be looking for help, and their best three prospects are right here on display for other teams to kick the tires on. 

Twins to appear in the Futures Game in recent years include Alex Kirilloff, Spencer Steer, Matt Wallner and David Festa. 

Culpepper is certainly one to watch. 

[jmlease1]

Culpepper is very deserving. He's having a good season, proving that he can stick at SS and impressing with the bat. Earned his promotion to AA in his first full season of pro ball, and has done just fine so far at a tougher level. Congratulations to him!

[Blyleven2011]

Congratulations for the selection to the futures game culpepper  , good to know we have a healthy player with the tools to play mlb baseball maybe next year ...

Can't forget Jenkins either , let's hope he stays healthy and make a case to be in mlb baseball maybe in September  or out of spring training next year ...

 

[jkcarew]

Culpepper deserving.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Gonzalez is outperforming him…narrowly, but at a higher level…and is a full year younger than Culpepper. Yes, not at a premium defensive position, as is Culpepper. Still, odd he wouldn’t get a nod.

ERod has been injured as usual, but I wouldn’t say his performance this year makes a compelling case for him to get the honor. Although, I guess prospect ranking has more to do with selection for this particular event than do current-season results. Probably why Gonzalez was not selected.

[DocBauer]

A very good choice and well deserved. I kept hearing he had a good glove, great arm, and MIGHT be able to stay at SS. Remember, he wasn't the primary SS until 2024. I kept hearing solid bat to ball skills, but he does chase a little more than you'd like. And he's probably got double digit HR power but probably won't hit 20. Enough speed for double digit SB as well.

Fast forward to this season and everything I read now is legitimate defense, chase rate is down, hittinf for AVG and solid power with speed on the bases. Makes me wonder if even the Twins scouts are a little surprised by how good he's looked.

I don't like timetables and undo pressure ever put on a prospect. They develop as they develop. And he's only been at AA for a little over a week, but he really hasn't slowed down. With a strong 2nd half, he could be ready for AAA in 2026.

Reminds me of the Keaschall pick where a lot of us, or most of us, weren't entirely sold when drafted. But the team just loved both players ability, potential, and makeup. Boy it looks like they were right!

[twinstalker]

Culpepper is a huge unknown.  His success has been at levels where's he's the same age as his competition, and that's a negative indicator if he's not doing it as a younger player.  Foremost, as a college player, he doesn't have a lot of time to be younger.  So he started at low A (same age), crushed in a small sample, got promoted to A+ (1.3 yrs younger) and sucked.  Repeating A+ he crushed (same-ish age) and is now early in his promotion to AA (younger).  How good Culpepper is going to be is going to be foretold by how well he does this year at AA.  He's eight games in, so it's early.

Here's what's not early:

2024 low A:    4.9%   -- way too good for level

2024 high A:   18.3%  -- 

2025 high A:   16.2%  --  

2025   AA:       21.1%

If you look at this in the proper context, Culpepper's K-rate is good and predictive with some other indicators of future success.  His walk rate is in the range you want it (not too low, not too high).  If KC ends this AA season with a K-rate under 20%, it bodes well.

If he Ks at 16% this whole AA season, he's a more athletic Brooks Lee, which means he should be an average MLB starter.  Lee's not even average yet, but that's where he's headed soon, and Culpepper's K rate will determine if he is as well.  But if he stays at 21% for this AA season, it's a lot more dicey.  

 

 

[Sampson5]

How Gonzalez didn't get a spot on the team is wild been one of the best outfielders in the entire minor leagues this year thought both would make it I get Jenkins and e rod not getting in since both have missed most the season but Gonzalez and culpepper both been elite at the plate 

[Dman]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

A very good choice and well deserved. I kept hearing he had a good glove, great arm, and MIGHT be able to stay at SS. Remember, he wasn't the primary SS until 2024. I kept hearing solid bat to ball skills, but he does chase a little more than you'd like. And he's probably got double digit HR power but probably won't hit 20. Enough speed for double digit SB as well.

Fast forward to this season and everything I read now is legitimate defense, chase rate is down, hittinf for AVG and solid power with speed on the bases. Makes me wonder if even the Twins scouts are a little surprised by how good he's looked.

I don't like timetables and undo pressure ever put on a prospect. They develop as they develop. And he's only been at AA for a little over a week, but he really hasn't slowed down. With a strong 2nd half, he could be ready for AAA in 2026.

Reminds me of the Keaschall pick where a lot of us, or most of us, weren't entirely sold when drafted. But the team just loved both players ability, potential, and makeup. Boy it looks like they were right!

@DocBauer Loved your post.  That is exactly how I remember it as well.  I didn't hate the pick, but there sure seemed to be a few too many questions to feel confident about it.  

[nclahammer]

A very nice honor for the kid.  Saw him last year with the Kernels and he held his own, did not look overmatched.  Culpepper is a good kid and I wish him the best.

[dxpavelka]

15 hours ago, OvertheHill said:

Pretty important given the fact that Correa will need to move off SS sooner rather than later. What that does to Lewis I don’t know. 1B? 

Could still be a LONG time before there is a better SS on the roster than Correa.

[Doctor Wu]

13 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

good to know we have a healthy player with the tools to play mlb baseball

We need more of those types of players! But congratulations to Culpepper on the selection. Make us proud, young man!

[Major League Ready]

35 minutes ago, dxpavelka said:

Could still be a LONG time before there is a better SS on the roster than Correa.

Correa's wRC+ is below average and his defense is average at best.  Fangraphs projects to be a 2.0 WAR player and BB Reference projects him to be .2 WAR.  That's quite a difference.  Regardless, it's quite feasible Culpepper could produce better results from day 1 in the league which is probably by this time next year.  Now, if Correa gets back to his career norms offensively, he will be harder to replace as long as his defense does not continue to decline.

[LambchoP]

Both Culpeper and Gonzalez have had great seasons and haven't slowed down at all since the move up to AA. Another intriguing player is DeBarge. 42 steals in the first half! If he can develop a little more power this kid could be fun to watch! Too bad we don't have any pitchers having great seasons like these position players..... We really need to be trying to acquire as much pitching as we can at the deadline.

[dxpavelka]

15 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Correa's wRC+ is below average and his defense is average at best.  Fangraphs projects to be a 2.0 WAR player and BB Reference projects him to be .2 WAR.  That's quite a difference.  Regardless, it's quite feasible Culpepper could produce better results from day 1 in the league which is probably by this time next year.  Now, if Correa gets back to his career norms offensively, he will be harder to replace as long as his defense does not continue to decline.

None of which points to the imminent presence of a better SS on the roster.

[Major League Ready]

7 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

None of which points to the imminent presence of a better SS on the roster.

Our only disagreement is that your focus is immediate.  I am pointing out that there is an alternative on the not-too-distant future.  It really does not matter this year unless this team makes serious improvements in a number of areas very soon.  This is why I am more concerned about having a solution on the horizon.

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Our only disagreement is that your focus is immediate.  I am pointing out that there is an alternative on the not-too-distant future.  It really does not matter this year unless this team makes serious improvements in a number of areas very soon.  This is why I am more concerned about having a solution on the horizon.

Just don't think the future is as Major League Ready as you think.

[Major League Ready]

You might be right.  If he has great potential, he should be ready after giving him the rest of the year at AA and the first 2-3 months of next at AAA.   He will be 23 1/2 at this time next year.