When the Minnesota Twins took prospect Kaelen Culpepper with 21st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the hope was he could be the club’s future shortstop. Touted for his legitimate bat-to-ball ability and strong throwing arm coming out of Saint Benedict at Auburndale located just east of Memphis in Cordova, Tennessee, Culpepper hasn’t disappointed in the minors.
Kaelen Culpepper Tearing Up Minor Leagues
The talented former Kansas State star who helped guide the Wildcats to a Super Regional berth in his final season in Manhattan was a stud with High-A Cedar Rapids. There he slashed .293/.385/.479 in 54 games with the Kernals. His play helped the Kernals earn a playoff spot for clinching the Midwest League West Division’s first-half title prior to promotion to Double-A.
From our diamond to theirs, the dream continues for Kaelen Culpepper 💭
Congratulations to KC on his promotion to AA Wichita! pic.twitter.com/XkW9Is23y8
— Cedar Rapids Kernels (@CRKernels) June 20, 2025
Culpepper Stands On Business
In all Culpepper’s (.293) batting average ranked seventh in the league. His nine homers were good enough for fourth in the league, and his 103 total bases ranked fifth overall. Culpepper finished eighth in slugging percentage (.479) and hits with a gaudy (63) and ninth overall in OPS (.864).
This is what Culpepper said he envisioned at the time the Twins drafted him, and it’s always been about business for the steadily rising talent.
“When you look at me out on the field, you can tell that I work out until I’m just a specimen on the field,” he said. “I mean business.”
“I have drive and passion for the game,” he said. “My dad has done a great job implementing that in my brain, and I’ve just stuck with it.”
Kaelen Culpepper, our first round pick in the 2024 @MLBDraft, launched his first HR of the season and drove in 5 runs in the @CRKernels win🌟
2-4, HR, BB, 5 RBI, R
He now has a .995 OPS on the season 📈#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/WPo26scDgV
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) April 28, 2025
Culpepper Had Standout College Career
While it’s amazing to see Culpepper doing his thing in the pros, it’s a carbon copy of what he did for the Wildcats over his three seasons in “The Little Apple” (in reference to “The Big Apple” in NYC). During that timeframe, Culpepper posted a .314/.402/.531 slash line with 26 homers and 27 steals in 152 games in three seasons at Kansas State.
Led by Culpepper, the Wildcats advanced to the program’s second-ever Super Regionals last season and first since 2013. This after finishing sixth in the Big 12.
