Twins Minor League Report (8/5): Kaelen Culpepper, Walker Jenkins Go Back-to-Back Against Big Leaguer

[ashbury]

29 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

It would be great if he could make that move given our abundance of outfield prospects, but I seriously doubt he has the physical tools other than being tall.  That's why I say give him the entire winter with a coach executing drills on an ongoing basis.

I suppose it can't hurt, but I don't put the odds high that a winter coach will teach soft hands and good footwork at 1B when prior coaches couldn't do similar things in an outfield context.

Most of all I'm reminded of Robert Heinlein's dictum: Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Is there any chance that Culpepper and/or Jenkins are on the opening day roster in 2026.

The rebuild is what it is. But, if you're going to do it - do it right. The last thing anyone needs is the likes of Outman, Roden and Julien hanging around on the 26-man roster in 2026 while the talent stays down in St. Paul or Wichita.

[Steve Lein]

18 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I think it's perfectly fine to let Houston get acclimated to professional baseball in Ft. Myers for the rest of the season. he can start in Cedar Rapids next year if he continues to look ok with the bat and try and set himself up for advancement to AA if his numbers support it, but the Twins have a more robust system in place at Ft. Myers which makes it a good place for him right now. (besides, Winokur & De Andrade are still in Cedar Rapids right now and need reps too)

I also am not a fan of putting experienced college bats in the rookie leagues or low-A after being drafted, as they are already beyond that level of competition. 

But there also is something to be said about just letting them finish off a couple months of an already long baseball season they have gone through at the best facility the organization has to offer them. They're not playing in the majors this year, or even the next one probably, so I get it.

That doesn't mean we can't still be disappointed about it. 🙂

[jmlease1]

14 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Of all the players in the Twins organization, which player would be the best fit at 1B, and hit accordingly with some power, the next 5 to 8  years at the major league level? I  think it could be Brooks Lee. Who  do you think it could be?

Why would you remove all of the defensive utility Brooks Lee brings to the table (he's almost certainly going to be our starting SS until Culpepper is ready) by moving him to 1B, especially when he hasn't shown he can hit anywhere near well enough to play at positions that demand offense? While I'm sure Lee would field well at the position, moving him there makes zero sense.

I don't know that we have a good 1B option right now that could lock down the position for 5+ seasons that's close. Wallner profiles ok there, but might not have the footwork and we have no idea if he could become adept at things like the scoops and sweep tags. I think a more likely contender would be Billy Amick, but he's still in A-ball and on the IL. 

[Steve Lein]

14 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Of all the players in the Twins organization, which player would be the best fit at 1B, and hit accordingly with some power, the next 5 to 8  years at the major league level? I  think it could be Brooks Lee. Who  do you think it could be?

The 1B hitter/body prototype is Wallner or Larnach. In the minors it's Billy Amick, and dare I say, Walker Jenkins.

Before you yell at me, I said "1B hitter/body prototype." The only one of those who could ever end up there on defense is Amick. 

I think Lee would be a monumental waste at 1B unless a lot of other things were different on the roster.

[DJL44]

14 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Of all the players in the Twins organization, which player would be the best fit at 1B, and hit accordingly with some power, the next 5 to 8  years at the major league level? I  think it could be Brooks Lee. Who  do you think it could be?

Ryan Jeffers is an overlooked option.

[Possumlad]

4 hours ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

Is there any chance that Culpepper and/or Jenkins are on the opening day roster in 2026.

The rebuild is what it is. But, if you're going to do it - do it right. The last thing anyone needs is the likes of Outman, Roden and Julien hanging around on the 26-man roster in 2026 while the talent stays down in St. Paul or Wichita.

Again, what on earth is up w/ the Roden hate? Guy is a 50FV prospect w/ a 0.900+OPS in AAA this year (not to mention meaningfully better defense than Wallner or Larnach). How did he immediately get bumped to scrub status on this site? 

[Steve Lein]

25 minutes ago, Possumlad said:

Again, what on earth is up w/ the Roden hate? Guy is a 50FV prospect w/ a 0.900+OPS in AAA this year (not to mention meaningfully better defense than Wallner or Larnach). How did he immediately get bumped to scrub status on this site? 

He's redundant with and much less heralded than Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner ever were.

He's a better outfielder sure, but that means average, and he projects as a platoon bat much like they do, without the comparable power. He is two-years younger, I'll give him that, but he'll also be 26 next year.

If he still qualified to be on it I'd probably have ranked him in the 11-14 range of top Twins prospects. 

I hope he turns into a regular, that would be great! But I think the reactions are generally lukewarm for good reason.

[Possumlad]

2 hours ago, Steve Lein said:

He's redundant with and much less heralded than Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner ever were.

He's a better outfielder sure, but that means average, and he projects as a platoon bat much like they do, without the comparable power. He is two-years younger, I'll give him that, but he'll also be 26 next year.

If he still qualified to be on it I'd probably have ranked him in the 11-14 range of top Twins prospects. 

I hope he turns into a regular, that would be great! But I think the reactions are generally lukewarm for good reason.

This isn't true.

Wallner peaked at #7 in the Twins org and was never a top 100 prospect. Never as highly regarded/ranked as Roden.

Larnach was similar to Roden, peaking as the Twins #3 prospect in and around #40 overall. 

[Steve Lein]

On 8/7/2025 at 6:14 PM, Possumlad said:

This isn't true.

Wallner peaked at #7 in the Twins org and was never a top 100 prospect. Never as highly regarded/ranked as Roden.

Larnach was similar to Roden, peaking as the Twins #3 prospect in and around #40 overall. 

My perspective on what heralded means is Wallner and Larnach were both 1st round draft picks out of big schools while Roden was a 3rd round pick out of a small one.

Wallner at #7 for the Twins also means something a lot different at the time than Roden's similar placement in a far worse system.

Edit: I learned my lesson on Fangraphs ratings of prospects based on OBP numbers for guys like Roden from Nate Roberts as a Twins prospect. Look him up. I loved him as a player. I love Payton Eeles right now for similar reasons. Injuries cut Roberts short, but that's the type of guy I see with them.

But I am always happy to be proven wrong! I'm bullish on Eeles from what I've seen, so I hope you are right!

 

Edited August 9, 2025 by Steve Lein