Twins shortstop Kaelen Culpepper homers in MLB debut to spark comeback victory
Kaelen Culpepper arrived in the big leagues eager to show he could make a major contribution to the Minnesota Twins' push for a playoff berth.
The 2024 first-round draft pick did just that by homering in his debut Friday night to help the Twins rally for an 8-6 victory over the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Culpepper, one of the Twins' top prospects, connected on an 0-2 pitch from Shane Drohan and delivered a 390-foot shot over the wall in left-center field for his first career hit. The fourth-inning homer came in Culpepper's second plate appearance.
"It definitely felt great, you know what I mean?" Culpepper said. "I fell behind in the count, but that didn't change anything. I feel like I strive with two strikes, so I stuck to my approach, got my hands back and saw something I could drive, took a really good swing on it."
Culpepper became the first Minnesota player to homer in his major league debut since Matt Wallner in 2022.
His promotion came on a busy day for the Twins, who also placed two-time All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan on the 15-day injured list due to a left glute strain. In other moves, the Twins called up pitcher Zebby Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul, designated pitcher Taylor Rashi for assignment and optioned infielder Tristan Gray to St. Paul.
Ryan's injury complicates the Twins' hopes of contending for a postsesaon berth, but they're hoping Culpepper can provide a spark.
Culpepper is rated by MLB Pipeline as baseball's No. 29 overall prospect. The Twins drafted him out of Kansas State with the 21st overall pick two years ago.
"I just want to show off, I guess my athleticism, and how hard I work," Culpepper said before the game. "I've been grinding. I'm still grinding. I just want to continue doing what I was doing down in St. Paul here, and just help contribute to what has already been done here. Just looking to make that push, for sure."
Culpepper, 23, has batted .271 with a .367 on-base percentage, .478 slugging percentage, 14 homers, 46 RBIs and 17 steals in 74 games with St. Paul this season. Twins manager Derek Shelton noted that Culpepper also has improved his fielding this year.
"That was something we challenged him on going into the offseason and then during spring training," Shelton said. "He's done a good job. He's worked harder. He's become a better defender. This is a kid who has some tools. That's why he's so highly touted."
Culpepper got a lesson in the fifth when he fielded a grounder and took a tad too long to throw to first, enabling Garrett Mitchell to reach safely on a two-out infield single that brought home a run and allowed Milwaukee to tie the game.
But the rookie shortstop also played a big role in helping the Twins erase an early 4-0 deficit. Culpepper's homer cut Milwaukee's lead to 4-3, and the Twins tied it later in the fourth.
"Definitely some things I need to work on, but for the most part, I got the first-game jitters out of the way, you know what I mean?" Culpepper said. "A lot to improve, a lot to learn from and grow from, for sure. I'm just happy to get that first one out of the way. I felt like I had a solid day. Just keep moving forward."
As for Ryan, Shelton wouldn't speculate on just how much time the right-hander could miss. Ryan is 6-8 with a 3.65 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings this season. He has allowed 17 runs — 16 earned — over 15 1/3 innings over his last three appearances.
"We've got to see how he responds to treatment and kind of go from there," Shelton said. "To put a number on it, I don't think it's fair, because if we put a number on it, then everybody gets attached to that number. And then if you don't hit that number, then it's like, 'What's the setback?' Sometimes people just heal differently. We probably won't have any sort of timeline until he starts throwing again."