BREAKING: Twins Calling Up Top Prospect Kaelen Culpepper

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

The wait is finally over. Jamie Cameron of Limestone Pipeline is reporting that the Minnesota Twins are calling up top prospect Kaelen Culpepper, giving one of the organization's brightest young talents his first opportunity in the major leagues. 

After months of speculation and an impressive first full season at Triple-A St. Paul, the 2024 first-round pick has officially earned the promotion. Culpepper has an .845 OPS with 14 home runs (31 extra-bae hits), a 116 wRC+, and 17 SB in 74 games at Triple-A.

Few prospects have generated as much excitement this season as Culpepper. Entering the year, he was viewed as one of the Twins' cornerstone prospects after being named the organization's Minor League Player of the Year in 2025. Culpepper’s 2025 season reads like the blueprint for a breakout. Between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, he slashed .289/.375/.469 (.844) with 20 home runs, 25 steals, and a 133 wRC+ across 517 plate appearances. 

He wasted little time proving he was ready for the next challenge, continuing to produce against Triple-A pitching while showing the well-rounded game that made him a first-round selection out of Kansas State.

The timing makes plenty of sense. Shortstop has been one of Minnesota's biggest question marks throughout the season, and Culpepper's strong performance left the front office with fewer and fewer reasons to keep him in St. Paul. Also, Minnesota’s offense has sputtered coming out of the All-Star break. It makes sense for Culpepper to get an opportunity with two left-handed starters scheduled in a pivotal series against Milwaukee this weekend. 

Culpepper's rise through the organization has been remarkably quick. Drafted 21st overall in 2024, he impressed during his first full professional season by climbing from High-A to Double-A while displaying legitimate 20-home run power and the ability to impact games on the bases. His power tool was one of his biggest question marks when he was drafted, and he's developed into one of the organization's best hitters. That success carried into 2026, where he continued to establish himself as a consensus top-100 prospect.

Now comes the next test. Prospect promotions rarely solve every problem overnight, and the Twins won't expect Culpepper to immediately carry the offense. However, he brings energy, upside, and a skill set that has been missing from Minnesota's middle infield. His athleticism should strengthen the defense, while his offensive profile gives him the potential to become an everyday contributor from the moment he steps onto the field.

For a Twins club looking to gain every possible edge during the stretch run, Culpepper's arrival could provide exactly the spark it has been searching for. The organization's future has officially arrived, and beginning tonight, Twins fans will finally get to watch one of baseball's most exciting young infielders take the next step in his career.

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What are realistic expectations for Culpepper in his debut? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Patzky]

A shot of excitement! Congratulations Kaelen.

[rdehring]

Fantastic news.  Who is the other side of the move?  Assume it is Gray going back to St. Paul.  While watching last night's game, kept wondering when they would do this.  

What will be interesting is what they do when Buxton returns, hopefully, within a week.

[nicksaviking]

Should be fun. Calling up prospects when the veterans on the team feel they are chasing a playoff spot always seems to be a better atmosphere for the rookies than when the team is just going through the motions trying to play out another lost season.

[Vanimal46]

Awesome! Stick him in the lineup tonight.

[DataNerd]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Awesome! Stick him in the lineup tonight.

They aren't going to call him up for him to start 3 times a week.

[danielp19653]

You're welcome everyone, got my tickets for tonight's Saints game (first one of the year). Even told my wife that meant Jenkins and Culpepper were going to get called up haha

[terrydactyls]

After Culpepper soaks in the MLB atmosphere for a week, he'll be joined by Jenkins on the 16th.  Let's see how these moves impact attendance for the rest of the season.  I hope the Twins don't do something stupid like making them sit on the bench and observe how major leaguers behave.  If you call them up, play them for the rest of the year.

[Derojo]

Buxton returning isn't an issue till he returns. It's not a given that he will return this month since his hip issue is a recurring problem. It wouldn't shock me if he returned and became injured again. Which Buxton will return, the locked in one or the version that swings at outside balls and low balls?

[terrydactyls]

2 minutes ago, DataNerd said:

They aren't going to call him up for him to start 3 times a week.

They've done it before.  And sometimes for even fewer starts per week.

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, terrydactyls said:

They've done it before.  And sometimes for even fewer starts per week.

The question is... Will Culpepper stick at SS, or will they move him around between 2B, 3B, and SS? I hope it's the former.

[ashbury]

Glad to hear it.  Hope he makes the most of the opportunity - if he does then we're in for some good times.  Stay healthy!

[Paul Walerius]

15 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Fantastic news.  Who is the other side of the move?  Assume it is Gray going back to St. Paul.  While watching last night's game, kept wondering when they would do this.  

What will be interesting is what they do when Buxton returns, hopefully, within a week.

Jackson would be the other guess.   Not sure. On options though. 

[jmlease1]

YES! this is excellent news. Looking forward to seeing what he can do.

Hope they plan to start him basically every day. Kreidler is best suited to be a utility guy (and his ability to play quality CF defense is great)

It make take a little time; I'm trying to not get ahead of my skis on Culpepper, but I am excited to see what he can do. I think he could be a really good player.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

YES!!!! Gray is likely the one going down becuase I doubt they would want 3 shortstops on the roster. Good for Kaalen. Hopefully he can ignite the offense. 

[S Bart]

4 minutes ago, Derojo said:

Buxton returning isn't an issue till he returns. It's not a given that he will return this month since his hip issue is a recurring problem. It wouldn't shock me if he returned and became injured again. Which Buxton will return, the locked in one or the version that swings at outside balls and low balls?

I am not real confident that he will return to his preallstar level. Jenkins will be up in a week.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I feel like a proud parent, excited for my son's major league debut. My two other sons, Walker and Marek, are not far behind.

[ashbury]

If Gray is the one who goes out, at least he can look back and say he went out on a high note - a walk in last night's game and only one strikeout in three AB, and took part in a double play.  Well, that's a high note for him.

[DJL44]

Love the move, hate the timing. Seems like a no-confidence vote that Culpepper could win ROY next season.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

7 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Glad to hear it.  Hope he makes the most of the opportunity - if he does then we're in for some good times.  Stay healthy!

I also approve this here "most making"

[90stwinskid]

Woohoo! Let the youth movement begin!

[Patzky]

11 minutes ago, Paul Walerius said:

Jackson would be the other guess.   Not sure. On options though. 

No options so losing him vs sending down Roden makes Roden likely. (Martin?);

[terrydactyls]

14 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

The question is... Will Culpepper stick at SS, or will they move him around between 2B, 3B, and SS? I hope it's the former.

SS is my hope.

[Saxophone Joe]

13 minutes ago, ashbury said:

If Gray is the one who goes out, at least he can look back and say he went out on a high note - a walk in last night's game and only one strikeout in three AB, and took part in a double play.  Well, that's a high note for him.

I know it's hip around here to totally rip on the guy, but I've seen worse guys at the big league level. His production dropped off for sure, no doubt. But Gray provided some much-needed spark at various points in the first half of the season. Could be the last time he's in The Show. Time for an energy boost at SS, but he gets nothing but respect from me. And I'm sure his teammates feel the same way. This baseball sh*t is hard. 

[tony&rodney]

Congratulations to Kaelen Culpepper.

Hopefully he plays within himself. There really is no reason for him to feel as if he needs to be spectacular. I did feel like he was taking a few uncharacteristic big hacks at pitcher's pitches in the last week. What he did after those big swings was impressive though. Kaelen took hard swings at strikes and drove the ball. I'm hoping he gets comfortable quickly. 

 

[Chris Hove]

Step in the right direction. Even when the Twins are playing badly, this should give the fan base a little jolt of excitement. Hopefully, he can give the Twins a little bit more range at SS. Carry that hot bat into Milwaukee tonight. Let's go, Twins

[Patzky]

2 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Congratulations to Kaelen Culpepper.

Hopefully he plays within himself. There really is no reason for him to feel as if he needs to be spectacular. I did feel like he was taking a few uncharacteristic big hacks at pitcher's pitches in the last week. What he did after those big swings was impressive though. Kaelen took hard swings at strikes and drove the ball. I'm hoping he gets comfortable quickly. 

 

I'm so looking forward to not having to cringe every time a ball is hit up the middle.

[ashbury]

48 minutes ago, rdehring said:

Who is the other side of the move?  Assume it is Gray going back to St. Paul.  

I count 21 pitchers and 19 position players on the Twins' 40-man roster, so they need a spot for Culpepper and the move I anticipate is Gray being designated for assignment.  Unlikely but he could get claimed on waivers during that process.  I don't know whether he can then refuse an outright assignment to St Paul, or if in that case he'd want to look for an opportunity he likes better.  So - 90% chance he goes back to St Paul IMO, but there are wheels within wheels on even a low-voltage move like that.

/ edit - it was pointed out further down that Fedko probably will go on the 60-day IL.  That takes care of the 40-man problem.  Down Gray goes, no waiver-wire "drama."

[umterp23]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Love the move, hate the timing. Seems like a no-confidence vote that Culpepper could win ROY next season.

So I read the rules/stipulations and they say PPI program allows up to but can’t exceed 60 days of MLB service time. Then below that statement it says rookies aren’t considered rookies after 45 days. Not sure what the timing baseline is. 

[ashbury]

6 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

I know it's hip around here to totally rip on the guy, but I've seen worse guys at the big league level. His production dropped off for sure, no doubt. But Gray provided some much-needed spark at various points in the first half of the year. Could be the last time he's in The Show. Time for an energy boost at SS, but he gets nothing but respect from me. And I'm sure his teammates feel the same way. This baseball sh*t is hard. 

You're right and I felt a little cheap going for the laff there.  They're human beings and deserve our respect for the skill they possess and the hard work they put in.

Still, it IS Tristan Gray.