The Minnesota Twins are off to a 5-6 start this season after finishing an abysmal 70-92 last season. Things got so bad that the club initiated a fire sale at last year’s trade deadline sending 10 players out of the Twin Cities in 72 hours in an attempt to cut salary and rebuild their dense farm system.

Minnesota Twins Cut The Fat Last Season  

Players like Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax were dealt as the team pivoted to long-term restructuring after a disappointing season. One player who wasn’t dealt is rising shortstop Kaelen Culpepper the club’s No.2 ranked prospect and the MLB Pipeline’s 49th-ranked prospect.

Culpepper Looks Promising At Shortstop: Early Call Up?  

Moving the aforementioned Correa was done in anticipation of Culpepper ascending to the shortstop position. While the power-hitting former Kansas State Wildcats star isn’t expected to be called up until next season he’s making it hard for team brass to not make the move this season.

Earlier this week in a doubleheader for the Twins Triple-A affiliate St. Paul, Culpepper homered in both halves of the doubleheader at CHS Field. It was the 2024 first-round pick’s first multi-homer game of the season. Culpepper’s long-distance power is something Twins director player of development Drew McPhail talked about in October.

“It’s a special combination of confidence, and I think that comes from a level of preparedness, and then openness to feedback and improving. That’s a rare combo, that I think he has both in an incredibly healthy.” 

The talented 23-year-old boosted his slash line to .294/.368/.559 with a combined 2-for-7 performance Sunday, while also tallying his third walk of the campaign. He’s also gone yard three times in eight by games this season.

Fans Want Team To Demote Brooks Lee For Culpepper Now

The struggles of current shortstop Brooks Lee has fans clamoring to see Culpepper in the majors this season. In fact, Lee’s struggles which include a below average slash line of .228/.275/.345 since 2024 have been highly documented. Another issue is he’s not a great defensive shortstop either, which makes it hard to keep in the lineup.