Inside The Twins

After hot start, Twins' 2024 first-round pick promoted to Double-A

Kaelen Culpepper has been raking for High-A Cedar Rapids and has now been promoted.
Will Ragatz|
Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred takes a photo with Kaelen Culpepper after he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the 21st pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum.
Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred takes a photo with Kaelen Culpepper after he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the 21st pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

Twins 2024 first-round draft pick Kaelen Culpepper has been promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita, the organization announced on Friday.

Culpepper, the 21st overall pick out of Kansas State last year, had been having a great season for the Kernels. Across 54 games this season, he hit .293 with nine home runs, 15 stolen bases on 17 tries, and an .864 OPS. He homered on Thursday in his final game at High-A as Cedar Rapids clinched a first-half title in the Midwest League, which comes with a playoff berth.

It's been a strong, encouraging start to Culpepper's first full season of pro ball. After being drafted last summer, he hit .242 with three homers and a .724 OPS in 26 games between Low-A and High-A.

In 152 games across three seasons at Kansas State, Culepper hit .314 with 26 home runs, 27 stolen bases, and a .934 OPS. An athletic shortstop with a well-rounded game, Culpepper is ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Twins' organization by MLB.com. If he plays well with Wichita, he could potentially earn a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul before the end of the year.

Culpepper will now be teammates with Twins No. 1 prospect Walker Jenkins, their first-round pick (No. 5 overall) out of high school in 2023. Jenkins has missed most of this season with an ankle injury, though he just returned to the Wind Surge roster after a rehab assignment with Low-A Fort Myers.

The two other prospects in the Twins' top four — Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall — are both currently working their way back from injuries.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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