Kaelen Culpepper Is The Key To Even More Defensive Flexibility

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Friday morning marked the start of an exciting new chapter in Twins Territory. The Twins finally called up their No. 3 prospect, shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, giving one of the organization’s most impressive young players a chance to make his long-awaited MLB debut. Culpepper wasted very little time making an impression.

Through his first two games, Culpepper is 1-for-5 with a home run, a walk, a strikeout and two hit-by-pitches. The homer came in his second career MLB at-bat, offering an early glimpse of the power that helped make him one of the system's most highly regarded prospects.

But Culpepper's arrival could be important for reasons that extend well beyond his own production. The Twins have assembled a roster loaded with defensive versatility. What they've lacked is the stability at shortstop that allows Derek Shelton to fully take advantage of it.

If Culpepper can provide that, suddenly a lot of pieces become much easier to move around.

Across 343 plate appearances with Triple-A St. Paul this season, Culpepper slashed .271/.367/.478, good for an .845 OPS. He brings a compelling combination of power and speed along with the ability to play around the infield. But the Twins don't need him to become another utility piece. They need him to establish himself as their everyday shortstop within a position-player mix that already boasts versatility in abundance.

Royce Lewis has played first and second regularly, and could still be used at third. Brooks Lee is a switch-hitter capable of handling multiple infield positions. Kody Clemens has spent time at first base, second base and all three outfield spots. Ryan Kreidler can play across the infield and handle center field. Luke Keaschall can move between second base and the outfield. Austin Martin offers another multi-position option. Culpepper gives Shelton the potential to anchor that entire puzzle with a natural shortstop.

The immediate infield alignment is fairly straightforward. Lewis should continue playing every day, Lee can remain at third, Clemens has earned regular opportunities and Culpepper can take over at short. Lewis, in particular, has made himself impossible to sit based on matchups, posting a .900 OPS since the All-Star break with relatively even production against righties and lefties.

The real benefit comes from what Shelton can do around that core.

Kreidler no longer needs to be treated primarily as the Twins' solution at shortstop. Instead, Shelton can deploy him where his versatility and defense are most useful, including center field while Byron Buxton is sidelined. Clemens can bounce between the infield and outfield depending on matchups. Keaschall can move from the outfield back to second base when needed. Lewis can shift around the infield. Martin can enter the mix against left-handed pitching.

That creates an array of possibilities for a roster that has often struggled to find the right combination.

Against a right-hander, Shelton could lean more heavily on Trevor Larnach, Keaschall and Alan Roden in the outfield. Against a lefty, Kreidler or Martin could enter the picture, with Keaschall shifting positions if necessary. Late in games, Shelton can improve his defense without being boxed in by positional limitations. When someone needs a day off, there's a good chance another regular can slide over rather than forcing a bench player into the lineup.

Culpepper himself doesn't create all of that versatility, but rather, helps unlock what was already there.

That's what makes his promotion especially intriguing. The Twins didn't call Culpepper up to be another player shuffled around the diamond. They called him up because they believe he can be an everyday contributor at one of baseball's most demanding positions. If he proves capable of holding down shortstop, Shelton can be much more creative with everyone else.

For a team searching for every possible edge down the stretch, that's no small benefit. Culpepper's bat could provide a needed spark, and his glove could stabilize an important position. But his biggest contribution might be giving Shelton the freedom to turn one of this roster's defining traits — its defensive versatility — into an actual strategic advantage.

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[PuckettPond]

He needs to play SS everyday either here or St. Paul as there can not be any half measures. Next year he will be playing many positions as Houston will be the everyday SS. 

[DJL44]

Unfortunately Kreidler is so bad on offense that the only positions you can justify playing him are SS and C. The other positions don’t get enough defensive chances to make it worthwhile.

[bean5302]

Matt Wallner, next SS for the Minnesota Twins because... positional versatility!!!! Talk to me about positional versatility when fielders are actually good at the positions we play them. 

[TheLeviathan]

Positional flexibility has a ton of value, the Brewers excel at that.

But we seem to push guys to play multiple positions badly....which isn't valuable.  At this point I'd settle for just guys who can play one spot well and finding that spot long before they get to the big leagues.

[darin617]

Royce Lewis needs to never play second base again unless it's an emergency. 

I feel him being mostly at first has helped him as a hitter. Less to worry about and knowing his role has eased the pressure on him for sure.

[bean5302]

53 minutes ago, darin617 said:

Royce Lewis needs to never play second base again unless it's an emergency. 

I feel him being mostly at first has helped him as a hitter. Less to worry about and knowing his role has eased the pressure on him for sure.

and you base that on he made an error that one time or something? Not that I'm a fan of Lewis at 2B in particular.

[USAFChief]

Can we Please ****can this "anybody can play anywhere" idea.

Pretty Please?

It's a surefire way to feature never ending bad defense.

[mike8791]

I might be rushing things a bit, but to really solidify the IF, at some point I would like to see our best fielder, Houston, play SS and Culpepper playing 2nd.  Twins should be moving Houston to AAA now so that we have some better idea how successful he'd be in the majors.  Of course, this presumes Lee and Lewis are the long term answers at 3B and 1B.  Some big question marks going forward but that future looks far more promising than anything we've seen in years.

[HarmonK03]

9 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

and you base that on he made an error that one time or something? Not that I'm a fan of Lewis at 2B in particular.

Lewis does not look comfortable at 2B, you can see the difference when he plays there vs. 1B.

[HarmonK03]

We need to plan for stability first, then plan for contingencies.  Meaning find positions for players, that will help you fill out your bench with what you need.  The first plan always seems to be positional flexibility, it isn't helping our defense.  Get players set and comfortable, then figure how you can back them up with the right mix on the bench.  

[HarmonK03]

1 hour ago, TheLeviathan said:

Positional flexibility has a ton of value, the Brewers excel at that.

But we seem to push guys to play multiple positions badly....which isn't valuable.  At this point I'd settle for just guys who can play one spot well and finding that spot long before they get to the big leagues.

The Brewers basically have two guys they move around the infield, Ortiz and Hamilton.  Bauers does play some in the outfield.  Not quite as much movement as it appears.

[RpR]

29 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

and you base that on he made an error that one time or something? Not that I'm a fan of Lewis at 2B in particular.

He has not looked horrid at Second, which amazes me a bit or put it this way, he does not look as bad at second as the other Mr. Grand Slam,, Gray did at Short Stop.

[Major League Ready]

Many teams gain an advantage through positional flexibility, but the Twins don't quite have the right personnel to take advantage.  I can see a scenario developing by the middle of next year, we have a lot less movement.  Hopefully, Houston becomes the SS for the next several years.  Culpepper probably ends up at 2B, Lee at 3B and Royce at 1B.  The only guys moving around a lot are the guys meant to be Utility players.  

[Linus]

I think this flexibility is the key to our great defensive play. Wait, we suck on defense? You would think somebody would connect the dots somewhere along the line. One of the basic tenets of SABR or modern analytics is to not make outs. Wouldn’t it make sense that the other side of the coin, ie not giving away extra outs would be equally valid?  Part of the Twins problem was for the first part of Falveys tenure they drafted a lot of bad fielders and they are still recovering from that.