There's an Awful Lot Riding on the Shoulders of Kaelen Culpepper

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

There's a growing buzz throughout the Twins sphere that Kaelen Culpepper's arrival in the majors is imminent. A promotion would certainly be warranted — the 23-year-old has been on fire in Triple-A, slashing .391/.481/.696 here in June after posting a .947 OPS in May. He's homered five times in his past 14 games while showing improved plate discipline and playing shortstop almost everyday. 

It's fair to say he looks ready. But Culpepper's success in St. Paul is only one factor driving the sense of urgency to get him up to the big-league club.

The other side of it is that Minnesota's infield has been horrible, offensively and defensively. Most troubling: this state of affairs can primarily be tied back to a set of players who not long ago were in the same position as Culpepper: former high draft picks turned top prospects who were being counted on as key parts of the solution for the Twins infield. 

Brooks Lee's OPS has hovered around mediocrity, which is a relatively good outcome in light of his ugly underlying metrics. His fielding has graded out very poorly, albeit better at third than short, and as a result he's been a borderline replacement-level player. That still puts him ahead of Royce Lewis, who's checking in at a .554 OPS and negative-0.2 fWAR after returning from a brief banishment to the minors. Lee has also outperformed Luke Keaschall, who's been getting on base at a solid rate recently but is slugging .324. Not good enough for a bottom-tier defender at second base.

Twins fans are constantly being reminded that the path from top prospect to impact major-leaguer is non-linear if not a dead end. The two biggest talents in the Twins' system aside from Culpepper, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, are both injured (again), which only reinforces that sense of wariness. Nothing is promised. In fact, around here, it almost feels like what's promised is disappointment.

Still, hope springs eternal, and when you see a touted talent like Culpepper tearing it up at the closest level to the majors, you can't help but shake off past experiences and feel excited. He looks like a good one. The Twins need him to be, and fast.

 

It's not so much about salvaging this season, which feels like a moot point. It's more so about rejuvenating any sense of optimism and confidence within the fanbase. This year has already been a morale beatdown: modest winning stretches followed by deep funks, myriad injuries to the pitching staff, and — as mentioned — the so-called "post-hype prospects" meant to propel a turnaround have flopped almost without exception.

Fans need a beacon for a better future they can grasp onto. There's little on the current roster to provide it, and there's little else on the way in the near term. Fair or not, Culpepper carries a heavy weight. Here's hoping he's up to the task. 

History says he'll let us down. But history is only that.

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[mrtwinsfan]

Please explain ,  what r  they waiting on ,  ???????????

[h2oface]

Time is now. Time to see. Before he gets injured in AAA ball. 

[Cris E]

Was this supposed to be the other half of the "Send Down Luke" article?  Why are they split up? 

[DJL44]

This is a perfect, low-expectations time to break in a rookie. They have 3% odds to make the playoffs.

[Major League Ready]

I think it's coming soon.  I have watched about 1/2 of the Saints games.  Culpepper just keeps getting better.  He was chasing too many bad pitches not long ago.  My guess is they are just trying to refine the approach a little more before sending him to the show and he is looking pretty darn refined.  He is a really important piece.

[jaimedude]

Culpepepper would bring some speed,  range, decent arm and defense to middle of infield. To a lot of  Saints and Twins fans, he is ready to help the Twins. Not sure why Zoll and Shelton are reluctant to give him a chance. Too much losing with the guys in place, and the line-up not doing great anyhow. 

[Linus]

He is incredibly important to the Twins. If he isn’t the SS of the future we likely have a big problem. While I hope Houston is the long term solution there is a very real chance he hits like Kreidler in the show. If neither guy can make the Twins will be unloading valuable assets filling the void. 

[RpR]

AHHH -  Culpepper, the new Lewis.

Runs and fields like Willie Mays Hayes.

[DocBauer]

IMO, the most logical conclusion is just ramping him up both offensively and defensively to be the MOST READY he can be. And I'm OK with that.

Since Lewis was sent down, Lee was moved to 3B. That wasn't done as a temporary move. And since then, K-Pepper has been played exclusively at SS.

While there is at least some slight concern about chase rate, I'd say that's true for about 80-90% of all rookies.

Expecting him to be some sort of STUD offensively and defensively right out of the gate is a mistake.  And that's why I object somewhat to the headline. He just has to continue being his normal self. There really shouldn't be that much pressure on him. Just be better than who you are replacing, but don't even think about that.

Just be YOU.

Lee is where he should be. He's just better at 3B overall, with a lot of tools to be a good 3B, even without a cannon. And his offense has improved, he just needs to find better consistency. 

And I'm not going to derail this OP in regard to Keaschall at 2B or any mention of Lewis.

It's POSSIBLE that a year or so from now that Houston's bat is at least decent. And his glove is so amazing that he moves K-Pepper to a different spot.

Dreams and bird in a hand folks.

We have the absolute best SS prospect we've had in years sitting at AAA right now.

I've stated very clearly even before the season began that the Twins would have a SPLIT season. The first part was just being competent enough with the bullpen and a strong rotation to keep the team around .500 before we got to see the young arms, and the young OF, and K-Pepper settling SS

Alas, we've seen the young arms earlier than expected in some cases, and hopefully will see more. Injuries have set back almost the entire OF part of the "next wave". Luckily, we're still only approaching mid June, so there's still a real chance the build up for 2027 that I expected and hoped for will still take place. 

But K-Pepper is the ONE top prospect that has so far avoided "the curse", lol. I DON'T like pressure added to him. Again, all he has to do is be himself. The skills say he's a solid SS with the potential to be above average. That would be OUTSTANDING and help settle the left side of the INF.

Should he, or we, care that MAYBE in a year, or year and a half that there might be an even better defensive SS ready to take over? Well he shouldn't, because he's got all the talent in the world to be a STUD 2B or 3B and things change over time.

I really don't understand why he's not up yet considering the hot streak he's been on. But again, if they just think another week or two getting prepped makes sense, who am I to argue?

I think he potentially changes the defense AND the lineup.  I'm just not sure I agree with his shoulders bearing weight. I think it goes deeper than that.

Edited Thursday at 04:14 AM by DocBauer
Saved too soon

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, RpR said:

AHHH -  Culpepper, the new Lewis.

Runs and fields like Willie Mays Hayes.

Do you pay any attention at all to how other organizations outside the top 10 in revenue build a winning team?  For teams that can't buy a team, there is absolutely no way to construct a winning team without developing players like Culpepper.  You are yearning for max Kepler while demeaning players like Culpepper.  Try taking a look around the league.  The Rays, White Sox, and Mariners are in in first place.  How did they get there?  Man, you seem to work fulltime at ignoring reality.

[Linus]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Do you pay any attention at all to how other organizations outside the top 10 in revenue build a winning team?  For teams that can't buy a team, there is absolutely no way to construct a winning team without developing players like Culpepper.  You are yearning for max Kepler while demeaning players like Culpepper.  Try taking a look around the league.  The Rays, White Sox, and Mariners are in in first place.  How did they get there?  Man, you seem to work fulltime at ignoring reality.

Don’t worry about it - he’s just trolling you. 

[Riverbrian]

I'm all for his call up. I'm excited for his MLB journey to begin. It's hard to wait. Highly ranked prospects are supposed to develop into players who will have a career long enough to reach free agency. 

If they call him up.

There better not be a work stoppage of significant length. They will burn through valuable service time. 

If he is not good enough... the service time waste doesn't matter. If he's good enough... the service time matters.

His lofty ranking and AAA performance suggests that preserving his service time matters. 

He doesn't have to be rostered until December 2027.

This will probably draw criticism from the TD crowd but... If the Twins are going to go young and I'm all for the Twins going young. With a work stoppage shadow (I don't believe there will be a work stoppage)... I'd rather they go with players already on the 40 man roster or players like Sabato or Fedko who are already a little age advanced. 

I do want to freely admit that I'm not entirely sure how it works. 

For example... If he ends the season on the 26 man roster.

Will they,,, can they... just send him down to the safety of AAA during the off-season and burn an option instead in the face of a work stoppage?

I understand that service time during a work stoppage would be part of the negotiation to getting back to work. If the owners want the players union to agree to cap/floor. I doubt the players are also going to give up the accrued service time during the stoppage. 

Whatever the answer to those questions. I'd be opposed to giving up service time for Culpepper or Jenkins during a work stoppage. They would have to be off the 26 man during the off-season before a strike could occur.

That and I'd hate to see Fedko or Sabato just age out without opportunity and we already have players on the 40 man roster. 

Maybe someone could provide me solid information on 26 and 40 man management in the shadow of a work stoppage. 

 

 

[Woof Bronzer]

 

13 hours ago, RpR said:

AHHH -  Culpepper, the new Lewis.

Runs and fields like Willie Mays Hayes.

Max Kepler hit .216, OPS'd .690, and put up 0.1 WAR last year.    

[jmlease1]

9 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Do you pay any attention at all to how other organizations outside the top 10 in revenue build a winning team?  For teams that can't buy a team, there is absolutely no way to construct a winning team without developing players like Culpepper.  You are yearning for max Kepler while demeaning players like Culpepper.  Try taking a look around the league.  The Rays, White Sox, and Mariners are in in first place.  How did they get there?  Man, you seem to work fulltime at ignoring reality.

Keep in mind, Culpepper was drafted by the Previous Regime (Who Shall Not Be Named); often seems like there are people around here who actively root against prospects from that governance, that's how deep the hate goes.

And of course, since a minority of prospects work out, it's easy to call people suckers for looking hopefully to the next big thing and then go "see! I told you they sucked!" if they don't become an immediate star...

I dunno if there's any more pressure on Culpepper than any other highly touted prospect; I think he could be very impactful if he comes up and can field well at SS and hit, but I dunno that he's being seen as a savior any more than any other prospect that looks very promising.

I think the time is getting close on calling him up, though, and I'm looking forward to it. It might put a charge into the team and fanbase (even if some people already seem to be rooting for him to fail) and it would be fun to see the vision of an infield with him at the head.

I'm rooting for Culpepper, who has done damn near everything you could possibly ask for a prospect to date. He was in High A in his draft season at 21 after crushing it in Low A for a couple of weeks. He's never spent more than about half a season at any level in the minors before getting a promotion. He's looking at debuting in MLB in his 2nd full pro season.

Not bad for the 21st pick. Looking forward to seeing him at Target Field sooner rather than later.

[Blyleven2011]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

I'm all for his call up. I'm excited for his MLB journey to begin. It's hard to wait. Highly ranked prospects are supposed to develop into players who will have a career long enough to reach free agency. 

If they call him up.

There better not be a work stoppage of significant length. They will burn through valuable service time. 

If he is not good enough... the service time waste doesn't matter. If he's good enough... the service time matters.

His lofty ranking and AAA performance suggests that preserving his service time matters. 

He doesn't have to be rostered until December 2027.

This will probably draw criticism from the TD crowd but... If the Twins are going to go young and I'm all for the Twins going young. With a work stoppage shadow (I don't believe there will be a work stoppage)... I'd rather they go with players already on the 40 man roster or players like Sabato or Fedko who are already a little age advanced. 

I do want to want to freely admit that I'm not entirely sure how it works. 

For example... If he ends the season on the 26 man roster.

Will they,,, can they... just send him down to the safety of AAA during the off-season and burn an option instead in the face of a work stoppage?

I understand that service time during a work stoppage would be part of the negotiation to getting back to work. If the owners want the players union to agree to cap/floor. I doubt the players are also going to give up the accrued service time during the stoppage. 

Whatever the answer to those questions. I'd be opposed to giving up service time for Culpepper or Jenkins during a work stoppage. They would have to be off the 26 man during the off-season before a strike could occur.

That and I'd hate to see Fedko or Sabato just age out without opportunity and we already have players on the 40 man roster. 

Maybe someone could provide me solid information on 26 and 40 man management in the shadow of a work stoppage. 

 

 

I'm not sure I'd suggest anyone at 1 twins way to correctly explain it to you ...

[Riverbrian]

58 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

And of course, since a minority of prospects work out, it's easy to call people suckers for looking hopefully to the next big thing and then go "see! I told you they sucked!" if they don't become an immediate star...

I have no proof but I have been paying close attention to roster composition for a couple of years with all 30 teams.

I do have an unproven opinion that options available, patience for immediate performance and the allocation of spending and the lack of options with veteren players all play a significant role on "A minority of prospects working out". 

I'm not afraid of youth and just looking at the current MLB standings validates not being afraid of youth. The Rays, White Sox, Guardians, A's, Nationals, Marlins, Brewers and Cardinals are showing that youth isn't a death sentence.  

It is also possible that the perception of youth failing is coming from a segment of Twins fans and that perception is based upon the Twins failing as an organization. I have no proof of that either. 

[tony&rodney]

The White Sox and Rays are using a ton of young player. The Mariners mix in rookies as well. Hopefully, the Twins feel Culpepper is ready by the time June ends.

Players on the 40 person roster cannot play in the minor leagues during a lockout. There isn't any reason to hold players back if they are ready to contribute at the MLB level. 

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Players on the 40 person roster cannot play in the minor leagues during a lockout. There isn't any reason to hold players back if they are ready to contribute at the MLB level. 

Understood but wouldn't the service time issue still be an issue. 

Let's say they call up Culpepper next week. He is added to the 40 man which starts the options clock and he is added to the 26 man and that starts his service time clock. 

Let's say that Culpepper stays on the 26 man roster for the rest of this season and he is exceptional. 

And then let's say that all of 2027 is lost due to a work stoppage. 

Wouldn't Culpepper burn a full year of service time in that scenerio.   

Again... I don't believe that scenario will happen but until there is an agreement collectively bargained... Who Knows. The players union will not make every concession and if they make any concessions at all... the service time accrued during the work stoppage will certainly be something that they will get in order to justify what they give.  

[chpettit19]

I'd guess the service time issue they're looking at now, if any, is Super 2. Waiting another 2 or 3 weeks likely gets him beyond any Super 2 window and they can save a little dough down the line. 

Really, their only concern should be whether or not they think he's ready for his first crack at the majors. As soon as they think he's ready, there isn't anyone blocking him. A team in the position the Twins are in should be looking to get a guy like Kaelen up to start his MLB adjustments and get him ready for future years. My concern is that Tom's "we're going to compete" declaration "forces" them to make "depth" related decisions around the 40-man in the name of not having to rely on Culpepper not struggling while they try to chase a playoff birth.

The realistic view of this team is that they aren't good enough and need to start preparing for 2027 and beyond. Culpepper getting his feet wet, maybe having to go down, and getting used to making MLB adjustments is what's best for 2027 and beyond. Get him up the second you believe he's ready to start that challenge.

[tony&rodney]

3 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I'd guess the service time issue they're looking at now, if any, is Super 2. Waiting another 2 or 3 weeks likely gets him beyond any Super 2 window and they can save a little dough down the line. 

Really, their only concern should be whether or not they think he's ready for his first crack at the majors. As soon as they think he's ready, there isn't anyone blocking him. A team in the position the Twins are in should be looking to get a guy like Kaelen up to start his MLB adjustments and get him ready for future years. My concern is that Tom's "we're going to compete" declaration "forces" them to make "depth" related decisions around the 40-man in the name of not having to rely on Culpepper not struggling while they try to chase a playoff birth.

The realistic view of this team is that they aren't good enough and need to start preparing for 2027 and beyond. Culpepper getting his feet wet, maybe having to go down, and getting used to making MLB adjustments is what's best for 2027 and beyond. Get him up the second you believe he's ready to start that challenge.

This is exactly how the Twins and all fans should feel ..... because it ignores issues beyond any predictions, like service time and financial stuff, in favor of fielding the best talent and letting that talent learn and develop.

[Major League Ready]

52 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I'd guess the service time issue they're looking at now, if any, is Super 2. Waiting another 2 or 3 weeks likely gets him beyond any Super 2 window and they can save a little dough down the line. 

Really, their only concern should be whether or not they think he's ready for his first crack at the majors. As soon as they think he's ready, there isn't anyone blocking him. A team in the position the Twins are in should be looking to get a guy like Kaelen up to start his MLB adjustments and get him ready for future years. My concern is that Tom's "we're going to compete" declaration "forces" them to make "depth" related decisions around the 40-man in the name of not having to rely on Culpepper not struggling while they try to chase a playoff birth.

The realistic view of this team is that they aren't good enough and need to start preparing for 2027 and beyond. Culpepper getting his feet wet, maybe having to go down, and getting used to making MLB adjustments is what's best for 2027 and beyond. Get him up the second you believe he's ready to start that challenge.

Just my observation.  His approach was not great six weeks ago.  I think he would have been exposed pretty quickly at the ML level.  He had a .683 OPS in April.  .947 in May and .971 since May 1.   He has been really good for long enough that it's about time.  However, it is possible they are putting the final polish on the work they have been doing.  They also might have been contemplating swapping roster spots with Keaschall.  IDK but I sure hope Culpepper is here soon.  He is my favorite prospect. 

[Riverbrian]

8 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I'd guess the service time issue they're looking at now, if any, is Super 2. Waiting another 2 or 3 weeks likely gets him beyond any Super 2 window and they can save a little dough down the line. 

Really, their only concern should be whether or not they think he's ready for his first crack at the majors. As soon as they think he's ready, there isn't anyone blocking him. A team in the position the Twins are in should be looking to get a guy like Kaelen up to start his MLB adjustments and get him ready for future years. My concern is that Tom's "we're going to compete" declaration "forces" them to make "depth" related decisions around the 40-man in the name of not having to rely on Culpepper not struggling while they try to chase a playoff birth.

The realistic view of this team is that they aren't good enough and need to start preparing for 2027 and beyond. Culpepper getting his feet wet, maybe having to go down, and getting used to making MLB adjustments is what's best for 2027 and beyond. Get him up the second you believe he's ready to start that challenge.

I understand Super 2 and it's importance for gaining that extra year of control.

However... You still lose a year. You may have gained a year with Super 2 but you still lose a full year if 2027 is lost. With Super 2... It's 7 years down to 6 and without Super 2 it's 6 years down to 5. It would still matter. And Yes... I understand players can be traded, signed to extensions. 

I fully agree with getting ready for 2027 and beyond. However... that lost year has to be a factor in the beyond part with any prospect with any prospect that currently has reasonable expectation attached to him of being good enough to have a lengthy career and therefore reach free agency.  

Again... I don't think it will come to that. These are just thoughts in general. Baseball would struggle to regain fans if the game was lost for a significant period of time. So... I'm hoping that both sides are aware of that and come to an agreement. It's also possible that a whole new service time thing is negotiated.

I have no idea what to expect or if their are maneuver options available after adding. 

 

[Mike Sixel]

15 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Do you pay any attention at all to how other organizations outside the top 10 in revenue build a winning team?  For teams that can't buy a team, there is absolutely no way to construct a winning team without developing players like Culpepper.  You are yearning for max Kepler while demeaning players like Culpepper.  Try taking a look around the league.  The Rays, White Sox, and Mariners are in in first place.  How did they get there?  Man, you seem to work fulltime at ignoring reality.

I mean that poster has never said a positive thing about any prospects. I have no idea why anyone engages them at this point. 

I don't expect perfection right away, which is why I want the youth up and learning and growing in a lost season. 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Understood but wouldn't the service time issue still be an issue. 

Let's say they call up Culpepper next week. He is added to the 40 man which starts the options clock and he is added to the 26 man and that starts his service time clock. 

Let's say that Culpepper stays on the 26 man roster for the rest of this season and he is exceptional. 

And then let's say that all of 2027 is lost due to a work stoppage. 

Wouldn't Culpepper burn a full year of service time in that scenerio.   

Again... I don't believe that scenario will happen but until there is an agreement collectively bargained... Who Knows. The players union will not make every concession and if they make any concessions at all... the service time accrued during the work stoppage will certainly be something that they will get in order to justify what they give.  

You can't plan around the whole session being lost next year. You have no idea what the CBA will even be ....

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I understand Super 2 and it's importance for gaining that extra year of control.

However... You still lose a year. You may have gained a year with Super 2 but you still lose a full year if 2027 is lost. With Super 2... It's 7 years down to 6 and without Super 2 it's 6 years down to 5. It would still matter. And Yes... I understand players can be traded, signed to extensions. 

I fully agree with getting ready for 2027 and beyond. However... that lost year has to be a factor in the beyond part with any prospect with any prospect that currently has reasonable expectation attached to him of being good enough to have a lengthy career and therefore reach free agency.  

Again... I don't think it will come to that. These are just thoughts in general. Baseball would struggle to regain fans if the game was lost for a significant period of time. So... I'm hoping that both sides are aware of that and come to an agreement. It's also possible that a whole new service time thing is negotiated.

I have no idea what to expect or if their are maneuver options available after adding. 

 

Well, Super 2 wouldn't lose a year of control, just cause him to be paid more earlier. It doesn't lose a year of control, it adds a year of arbitration. So, he'd get 4 years of arbitration instead of 3 with only 2 years at minimum instead of 3. Super 2 is only a financial concern.

There's a lot of things that need to be a factor. Another one is his readiness whenever baseball resumes again after any potential lockout. I assume they play most, if not all, of 2027. Agree that the hope has to be that both sides are smart enough to not tank their viewership with lots of missed games. And their opening offers being much closer than I expected, and presented earlier than usual, gives me hope. But, the Twins should also be looking to compete as early as possible. Part of that is going to be Kaelen, and other youngsters, being able to provide real production. Getting him some run this year helps with that. How much run is needed? I don't know. But him having gone through the initial adjustment to the adjustments phase would be very good for the Twins.

I'm not making a case for any specific timeline for him beyond "when he's ready." The Twins already control him through his prime. He'll be 30 when he hits free agency. Would it be nice to have him til he's 31? For sure. If you think he's going to be good and want him til he's 33, extend him now and take the whole service time consideration off the table.

There are a million things that need to be considered, but I hope the #1 consideration is his readiness.

 

[Riverbrian]

4 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

You can't plan around the whole session being lost next year. You have no idea what the CBA will even be ....

Yeah I get that... but... And you are correct. We have no idea what the CBA will be. 

In this case... 

Elite Prospect. Not an average prospect. Those final years could be huge. You can't do anything about those who are already on the 40 man. For those not on the 40 man... it's a little different. 

Look at Royce Lewis and the service time that was lost due to his injuries. He's approaching 4 years of service time and we have about a year and half worth of AB's. Now you add in his struggles and by the time the performance ship is righted. He will be reaching free agency. 

I get that you do what's best for the team right now but...

Well anyway... I don't think we will lose all of 2027. This is really just a thought. Apparently I'm the only one with such thoughts. 

[chpettit19]

20 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Just my observation.  His approach was not great six weeks ago.  I think he would have been exposed pretty quickly at the ML level.  He had a .683 OPS in April.  .947 in May and .971 since May 1.   He has been really good for long enough that it's about time.  However, it is possible they are putting the final polish on the work they have been doing.  They also might have been contemplating swapping roster spots with Keaschall.  IDK but I sure hope Culpepper is here soon.  He is my favorite prospect. 

I have not watched much baseball at all this year. Life has been a little crazy. So, I have no opinion on what his readiness is. I'm a big proponent of numbers in the minors not at all being the end all be all. We can probably all name 10 guys off the top of our heads immediately who put up huge minor league numbers and had no shot in the majors. This is what the coaches/FO staff are paid for. The guys with the AAA (or AA) need to be able to give the FO guys feedback on the readiness of prospects. The FO guys then need to be able to get their eyes on them and decide if they agree or not. And then decisions need to be made.

I will most definitely not make an argument that the Twins have been good at this recently. But it's what teams need to be good at. And every team has AAA guys fans call for and teams don't call up. They have to be better than us at knowing who to call up and when. If there's a clear and obvious hole in his game that MLB pitchers are going to exploit and they think he can close up in AAA, let him close it there. But they need to have a line that all players can cross that say "this guy is ready for the next challenge." And being good at placing the line and knowing when guys cross it is one of the most important things any baseball organization does.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

This is exactly how the Twins and all fans should feel ..... because it ignores issues beyond any predictions, like service time and financial stuff, in favor of fielding the best talent and letting that talent learn and develop.

I don't know that I can agree with that. It depends on the situation your team is in. Where they are on the winning/competitive cycle and where they are in the financial world. Service time considerations are absolutely things teams need to consider. The best run teams are the ones that know the CBA inside and out and can take maximum advantage of it. 

I do feel that the Twins are at a spot where the most important consideration with Kaelen Culpepper should be his readiness. Holding onto Gray or whichever waiver wire level player people like least shouldn't be a consideration with him. "Depth" isn't needed this year. It's a lost season (realistically was before it started). There are a million other considerations I won't go through here, but they are things that definitely should be considered at certain times depending on the state of the organization. But, right now, what I want them focusing on is what's best for having Kaelen ready to be a real contributor moving forward beyond this lost season.

[Riverbrian]

8 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

Well, Super 2 wouldn't lose a year of control, just cause him to be paid more earlier. It doesn't lose a year of control, it adds a year of arbitration. So, he'd get 4 years of arbitration instead of 3 with only 2 years at minimum instead of 3. Super 2 is only a financial concern.

There's a lot of things that need to be a factor. Another one is his readiness whenever baseball resumes again after any potential lockout. I assume they play most, if not all, of 2027. Agree that the hope has to be that both sides are smart enough to not tank their viewership with lots of missed games. And their opening offers being much closer than I expected, and presented earlier than usual, gives me hope. But, the Twins should also be looking to compete as early as possible. Part of that is going to be Kaelen, and other youngsters, being able to provide real production. Getting him some run this year helps with that. How much run is needed? I don't know. But him having gone through the initial adjustment to the adjustments phase would be very good for the Twins.

I'm not making a case for any specific timeline for him beyond "when he's ready." The Twins already control him through his prime. He'll be 30 when he hits free agency. Would it be nice to have him til he's 31? For sure. If you think he's going to be good and want him til he's 33, extend him now and take the whole service time consideration off the table.

There are a million things that need to be considered, but I hope the #1 consideration is his readiness.

 

Yeah you are right on Super Two. I was thinking about that two to three week window to start the season that provides the extra year to keep them under that 172 service time thing. My fingers are typing quicker than my brain.

At this point... I'm all for his getting a taste as soon as possible.

Regardless of being 30 when he reaches free agency and that only happens if he isn't sent back down because there are also 3 options available to the club that can hold him until he is 33. But for a player that really really pans out. Isn't sent down... makes multiple all-star teams. That year of playing golf burning service time would still matter to the club. 

Much like the next CBA can't be predicted. Our needs in 2032 also can't be predicted. 

Anyway... I'm just throwing the thought out there. I'd love to see Culpepper in the bigs along with Jenkins and Erod. I'd like to see Fedko and Sabato at this point.