Kaelen Culpepper Wants to Be Known for His Hands

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of Matt Marton-Imagn Images

“The first month has gone by kind of quick,” quipped Kaelen Culpepper before Sunday night’s matchup against the Chicago White Sox. The 23-year-old isn’t wrong. On August 7, he walked into the visiting team’s clubhouse in Milwaukee, hours before first pitch. That feels like forever ago, right? I’m sure most of you reading this article remember where you were when he took Brewers starting pitcher Shane Drohan deep in his second major-league plate appearance. Time (as it's known to do) has flown by, however, and 100 plate appearances into his major-league career, Culpepper has become one of Minnesota’s most productive position players.

“It was nice, man,” Culpepper said of hitting second in the Twins lineup Saturday, for the first time since his contract was selected early last month. “You know what I mean? I hit leadoff and second a lot in the minors. So being back in the two-hole, it’s kind of, you know, allowed me to reminisce a little bit. But I felt pretty comfortable—felt right at home again.”

 

And right at home he was, going 2-for-5, including an RBI double in the top of the seventh inning that served as an insurance run for the club’s 6-4 comeback win over Chicago. Culpepper’s success extends far beyond Saturday night’s late-inning heroics. Over 100 plate appearances, the rookie has hit .297/.350/.451 with five doubles, three home runs, and a 133 wRC+. His underlying metrics support his strong start at the plate; he's shown great bat speed and some good contact skills.

 

“I just want to be quick in general.” Culpepper said. “I want the main thing that I’m known for is my hands. I feel like word is getting out pretty nice, but yeah, it’s always been a thing for me.”

 

Word is, in fact, getting out, particularly with his past two home runs coming off fastball variants in on his hands. He pulled this homer on a 93-MPH sinker from West Sacramento Athletics starting pitcher J.T. Ginn on August 26:

 

The bat speed remains unexpectedly eye-popping, averaging out at 73.7 MPH. That's the third-quickest swing on the active roster, sitting behind only Ryan Kreidler (74) and Royce Lewis (75.2). His quick hands have translated at shortstop, too, helping him net 0 Outs Above Average (OAA) over 203 innings played at the position.

“I played some really good defense in the minors, and I want that to translate," he said. "I know there have been some hiccups up here, but like, I’m young in my career. So, every day I’m working to make those routine plays: make the hard plays look easy.”

On the surface, a 0 OAA isn’t remarkable, but it's a meaningful improvement over what the club was getting from Brooks Lee (-6 OAA) and Tristan Gray (-7 OAA) in the season’s first half. He’s not the defensive shortstop Kreidler is (2 OAA), but there’s reason to believe he could quickly become a plus defender at the position if he can continue expanding his range while leaning on his plus arm.

 

“[I’m] working with Ramon [Borrego] every day, man," said the rookie. "I mean, we’re always grinding, working on something new, working on things that I’ve been working on the last year-and-a-half or so.”

 

Top prospect Marek Houston projects to be a better defensive shortstop than Culpepper. Yet, he isn’t expected to reach the parent club until mid- to late 2027 or early 2028, depending on his ability to hit Triple-A pitching. Culpepper will probably be Minnesota’s full-time starting shortstop next season, making his development at the position vital to the club’s success early next season. Until then, the top prospect wants to finish his 2026 campaign on the field.

 

“I wanna stay healthy. You know what I mean? I want to stay on the field. Continue playing every day—producing well," Culpepper said. "I’m feeling healthy. I haven’t had any issues (with my hip) since I came off the IL, so I’m good, I’m clean. Just trying to grind it out.”

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[DJL44]

I have enjoyed watching Culpepper play.

[TJSweens]

56 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I have enjoyed watching Culpepper play.

Can't sum it up any better. When is the last time the Twins could write in a name at SS and forget about it? If the worst case scenario comes to pass with Houston, I would be happy with them continuing to write Culpepper in at SS.

[bean5302]

Culpepper has been really outstanding. He's a legitimate shortstop. He's got the arm and the speed to cover the position as an above average shortstop. The Twins haven't seen that in a very, very, very long time. There are areas he can improve, but I expect he's capable of handling the position at an average or above average level.

He'll need to hone his plate discipline as he still chases way too much, but when a ball is in the zone, his contact skills are great. If he can adjust and learn some added discipline for pitches down low, his bat could hold at a solid.

All in all, I think Culpepper is producing at close to what was his expected ceiling already from both sides. In the field and at the plate. It'll be fun to see if he's able to take another step forward as he adjusts.

[Blyleven2011]

It’s baby steps for the rest of the season for Culpepper , next year is when we will know how he will handle the everyday challenges of the season …

he has been fun to watch so far and he has contributed on offense , defense has had its hiccups , but with further mlb time , he should get more comfortable and confidence the more he plays at the mlb level …

[DJL44]

5 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

He'll need to hone his plate discipline as he still chases way too much, but when a ball is in the zone, his contact skills are great. If he can adjust and learn some added discipline for pitches down low, his bat could hold at a solid.

I expect this will be the root cause of a “sophomore slump”. Keaschall and Lee each had to learn that lesson.

[Derojo]

Kreidler with that fast of a swing could be good if he would lay off balls. The same is true for Buxton. Caratini expands as well. The goal for 80-90 percent of pitchers is to induce you to get yourself out. The other 10-20 percent of pitchers have nasty, nasty pitches. If they are able to locate it's a very tough day. 

[bean5302]

Just now, DJL44 said:

I expect this will be the root cause of a “sophomore slump”. Keaschall and Lee each had to learn that lesson.

Brooks Lee's production is unreal.

His xwOBA is .276 (worst of his career) which should be good for like an OPS of like .625 or wRC+ 70. It's like Brooks Lee is intentionally aiming for the perfect shot for his home run balls to juuuuuuuuuuust barely clear the wall every time. Among qualified hitters, Lee's xwOBA is 135/141. 

I looked just a few weeks ago and there didn't appear to be any substantial change to Lee's approach. He doesn't walk, he doesn't barrel balls, he doesn't swing fast, he doesn't hit balls hard, he doesn't hit line drives, he just manages to get on base somehow. Maybe there's a hole in xwOBA nobody else has discovered.

[miller761]

Hopefully Jenkins, Rodriguez and Gonzalez follow in Culpepper footsteps.

[PuckettPond]

When his career is over he will be the greatest 2nd baseman & #2 hitter in Twins history as he is a 5-tool player. He has all the qualities to make that happen plus be a fan favorite.