Kaelen Culpepper, a righthanded hitter, was rated Baseball America’s No. 34 prospect and was No. 31 in MLB.com’s rankings.
Kaelen Culpepper sat in the green room alongside seven family members and broke into tears when he heard his name called as the Twins’ first-round pick Sunday.
The Twins made Culpepper, a 6-foot, 185-pound shortstop from Kansas State, their choice at No. 21 overall. Culpepper hit .328 in 61 games this year with 11 homers, 15 doubles, 59 RBI and nearly as many walks (35) as strikeouts (41).
Culpepper, a righthanded hitter, was rated Baseball America’s No. 34 prospect and he was No. 31 in MLB.com’s rankings. He has the arm strength to move to third base, but his swing isn’t projected to hit for a ton of power.
The Twins hold four picks, including Nos. 33, 60 and 69, on the first day of the MLB Draft, which was conducted at the Cowtown Coliseum.
They received the No. 33 pick as compensation for Sonny Gray departing in free agency after he declined the club’s $20.325 million qualifying offer. Gray entered the All-Star break with a 9-6 record and a 3.34 ERA in 17 starts with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Twins’ recent first-round draft picks
2023 — OF Walker Jenkins: Slowed by a hamstring strain earlier this year, he’s hitting .253 with two homers, 23 RBI and more walks than strikeouts in 25 games at Class A Fort Myers.
2022 — SS Brooks Lee: He’s made an immediate impact since he debuted with the Twins on July 3. He opened his big-league career with 11 hits and eight RBI in his first six games.
2021 — RHP Chase Petty: Traded to Cincinnati for Sonny Gray before the 2022 season. Pitching at Class AAA, he’s rated as one of the Reds’ top prospects.
2020 — 1B Aaron Sabato: Playing at Class AA for the third straight year, he’s no longer ranked on Twins top prospect lists. He’s batting .240 with nine homers and 26 RBI in 48 games this season.
2019 — SS Keoni Cavaco: The Twins released him last month after he was hitting .144 in High-A. The Houston Astros signed him and are attempting to convert him to a pitcher.
2018 — OF Trevor Larnach: Providing league-average offensive production for the Twins this year with a .727 OPS. He has nine homers and 30 RBI in 59 games.
2017 — SS Royce Lewis: He’s been a superstar when he is healthy. He’s currently on the injured list with an adductor strain.
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