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. 

[darin617]

3 hours 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 just doesn't look comfortable there. There's also been issues with him trying to turn double plays. 

Like I said before, I would rather see him at first and let him be comfortable there so his hitting doesn't suffer. I think it helps him at the plate.

[1985Fan]

The author loses credibility saying that Keaschall can play 2nd base. In the same way that I could stand at 2B with a glove on! Keaschall, I hope has had his infield glove taken away and burned so as to never be used again. The jury is still out on his OF play. If he doesn’t improve, I’m not sure where they’re going to play him. 

[dxpavelka]

17 hours ago, PuckettPond said:

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. 

Houston won't be in the bigs until this time next year at the earliest.  And he might not play  EVERY day when he arrives.  Optimism is great.  Tempered optimism is more realistic.

[bean5302]

Well, just so long as we're not using statistics, physical skill set or experience as ways to evaluate players and we instead rely upon things like how they look to determine they're hopeless. Also, as a tip, you can generally check social media to see how his wife is looking that day to determine Royce's confidence level and how he'll play that day.

[DocBauer]

I agree with the principle, if not the practice. 

I became a fan of Kreidler when I watched him play defense. And he surprised the hell out of me when he hit better at AAA than he had done before. And THEN he hit for the Twins WAY above what he had done before. He's popped some XB hits and stolen some bases. The guy is a BALLPLAYER, but he's also shown natural regression to the hitter he is.

IF Kreidler can hit .200 ish, with some pop/power and his defense with a little speed he's what should be the 13th man.

K-Pepper sets SS, with an obvious learning curve to give the kid a chance to settle in. 

Kreidler becomes a pretty valuable Utility Player. But he's NOT a daily player. 

The idea of versatility for position players is nothing new. All Newman was a super utility player and so was as was Punto. Defensive versatility is a good thing. As long as it makes sense.

Lewis playing a little 2B as a former SS and 3B makes some sense for now. That could change in 2027 when Houston debuts. But for now, Lewis playing some 2B isn't a mistake. 

Keaschall learning and growing and even making some mistakes isn't overly eggriouas. It's part of his development. 

The Twins are adapting overall in the 2026 season. And I'm actually IN with most of the changes being made. 

BUT, Defensive flexibility only matters if the players can be competent. 

I like the idea of Kreidler's glove and decent speed and occasionally power as the 13th man. I Don't like him as a Castro replacement as his bat remains week.

K-Pepper turns Kreidler in to a Super Utility player which is good. Personally, as much as I respect Kreidler, I'd love to see a competition next ST between him and Ross, who might not be as good with the glove, but better with the bat.

Kreidler's glove helps everywhere, and I'm good with that overall. And he only helps with roster flexibility if he plays here and there.  He DOESN'T need to play DAILY and that's on our manager and our FO.

I'd love to keep Jackson around, but isn't he potentially replaceable next offseason vs holding down a roster spot right now? 

Forget roster flexibility when we have a 3rd catcher who isn't playing. 

YES, K-Pepper up changes things. Kreidler becomes a SU, which is what he should be. But we're still missing someone who might make a difference. 

I understand the Twins wanting to give a good look at Roden. I actually like him. But at some point, the FO HAS to look at Jenkins at this point. And Rodriguez is very close behind.

And 2027 SHOULD HAVE BOTH Jenkins and Rodriguez in the OF. Not sure there's much of a choice.

K-Pepper was only the first debut for what's coming! And even he might be moving to 2B soon, despite being a solid SS, with Houston in the wings. IF the Twins are smart enough, and brave enough, the FO will be challenged to do the right thing and follow blueprints other teams have already done.