While the offseason gives dynasty managers a chance to catch their breath, it is certainly no time to take your foot completely off the gas. The dynasty team here at Pitcher List is here to help you continue expanding your dynasty baseball knowledge to give you an edge over your leaguemates. The offseason is a great time to dive deep on standout prospects from the previous season. Twins’ first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper is certainly worth looking into. He is coming off an excellent first professional season and should be a highly sought after dynasty prospect. Keep reading to find out what dynasty managers can expect to see from Culpepper.
Also, be sure to head over to the Pitcher List Dynasty page to check out more content from the team.
Kaelen Culpepper: The Future for Minnesota
Who is Kaelen Culpepper?
2025 Stats (A+/AA): 517 PA | .289 AVG | .375 OBP | .469 SLG | 20 HR | 25 SB | 17.4 K% | 9.7 BB%
The Twins have hit on several of their top draft picks from recent seasons. Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee are both up and contributing at the major league level. Pitching prospects Dasan Hill and Charlee Soto are sought-after assets in the dynasty community. Meanwhile, their first-round pick from 2024 could be the best of them all. The Twins took Kaelen Culpepper 21st overall in the 2025 draft. Culpepper played three seasons of college ball at Kansas State prior to being selected. In his final two seasons, Culpepper flourished into one of the more complete hitters in college baseball. Still, many scouts were torn on how his hit tool would translate to professional baseball and if his game power would ever truly come together.
Culpepper did not waste any time putting to bed the concerns some scouts had. The 6-foot right-handed hitting shortstop was dominant in his first full season. In 113 games, Culpepper hit 20 home runs, stole 25 bases, and hit .289. He spent the first 54 games at High-A before earning a promotion to Double-A for the final 59 games of the season. The transition from one level to the next did not slow him down in the slightest. Culpepper’s offensive dominance was a signal to dynasty managers of what is to come. He has soared up prospect ranking lists, and there is the chance he still is not ranked high enough.
Kaelen Culpepper’s Hit Tool
This is the biggest question in Culpepper’s tantalizing profile. FanGraphs grades Culpepper’s hit tool as just a 40 despite his impressive showing in 2025. Digging in, 40 seems too low, although there are some concerns for dynasty managers to be aware of.
Swinging from the right side, Culpepper features loud hands that wiggle the bat back and forth before a small leg kick helps his bat and body fly through the zone. He has a natural feel for getting to his pull side, which works both in his favor and against him. His pull-side awareness is great for his power (more on that to come), but it has a negative impact on his hit tool. At times in 2025, it seemed like Culpepper would get pull-happy. On well-executed pitches away, Culpepper would often roll over on them, leading to a high ground-ball rate. Culpepper’s ground-ball rate last season was about as high as dynasty managers would ever want to see it (50%). Improving starts with increasing his willingness to take pitches the other way.
While Culpepper’s ground-ball rate should be viewed as a yellow flag, the rest of his hit tool was overwhelmingly positive, considering this was his first full season. Culpepper posted impressive contact rates throughout 2025. His contact rate dropped from 78.9% in High-A down to 74.8% in Double-A, but that is a more than respectable number to post. Culpepper has excellent pitch recognition and is willing to take pitches out of the zone. He laid off breaking balls well and grew more selective as the season moved along. Culpepper’s speed and athleticism also should help him maintain a strong BABIP throughout his career. His BABIP was .323 last season, which is more than sustainable given his speed and high line drive rate.
TLDR: Culpepper’s hit tool is never going to be his carrying attribute. However, his speed, contact skills, and pitch recognition are all positives. His hit tool projects to be at least average with slightly more upside if everything clicks.
Kaelen Culpepper Power
During his time at Kansas State, Culpepper’s game power was never what stood out. He hit 10 home runs in 2023 and followed that up with 11 home runs in 2024. He prioritized contact (which is still a strength) and used more of an all-fields approach. While Culpepper still makes strong contact, his approach and subsequent dynasty outlook have shifted. As has become common in the Twins’ organization, Culpepper began pulling the ball more in 2025. His pull rate increased from 40.5% in 2024 up to 48.6% in 2025. Watching the film, every coming off Culpepper’s bat sounds loud. Even more important, with Culpepper pulling the ball more, his home run rate soared.
Home runs per fly ball is one of the stickiest stats from minor league data to the major leagues. Culpepper’s numbers should have every dynasty manager taking note. His HR/FB% was a measly 10.3% in 2024, which made sense given his modest power production in college. This number jumped all the way up to 18.9% in 2025. Culpepper’s feel for this new approach improved throughout the season. From May 16 forward, Culpepper crushed 18 home runs. His 600-plate-appearance pace over that timeframe was 27 home runs. There is reason to believe we could see another uptick in Culpepper’s home run totals in 2025.
If you watch Culpepper swing, it is a swing designed for pull-side pop. He has explosive hands that fly through the zone. His leg kick, albeit a small one, helps him get his body into his swing and drive the ball out to left field. Culpepper’s average exit velocities do not get anybody talking, but he has a max EV just below 113 mph. Combine that with elite pull-side awareness, and there is no reason to project Culpepper to have below-average pop. While he may never win a home run derby, dynasty managers should feel safe in projecting Culpepper to hit 20-25 home runs per season at the Major League level.
TLDR: Culpepper adjusted his approach to be more pull-heavy in 2025, resulting in a significant increase in his home run total and home run rate. This breakout is worth buying into as a dynasty manager.
Kaelen Culpepper Dynasty Baseball Outlook
Dynasty managers would be wise to get in on Kaelen Culpepper now before it is too late. The allure from a dynasty perspective is simple: five-category contribution. Culpepper is not elite at any one skill, but rather is as well-rounded a prospect as they come. As already mentioned, Culpepper does not have an elite hit tool. However, he showed off above-average contact skills in his first season while still batting .289. He consistently deposits line drives into the gaps and should hit .260-.270 on the season. Although Culpepper does not profile to have game-changing power, he should be more than capable of reaching 20+ home runs in a season. His new approach has transformed his outlook, and if he keeps developing, he has a potential ceiling for a 30-home run season.
The other important part of his game for dynasty managers to consider is his speed. Culpepper is an excellent athlete and stole 25 bases last season. His speed is not elite, but he picks his spots well and is still an above-average runner. Culpepper was only caught four times last season and should be a safe bet for 20 stolen bases at the major league level.
So, when can dynasty managers expect to see Culpepper in the major leagues? Despite having only one full professional season under his belt, it would not be surprising to see Culpepper debut at some point in 2026. The Twins are in a clear rebuild after trading away several key pieces at last year’s trade deadline. Fellow first-round pick Brooks Lee currently projects as the team’s Opening Day shortstop, but he posted an 81 wRC+ in 139 games last season. Outside of Lee, there are plenty of other players far from locked into a sustained everyday role. If Culpepper keeps hitting like he did in 2025, the Twins will have no choice but to give him a look at the major league level.
Culpepper’s name started gaining more notoriety as the 2025 season progressed. Even still, his dynasty value is not as high as it should be. Culpepper is a 20/20 prospect who has the chance to post above-average batting averages. He has the first-round pedigree and plays a premier position. His value will only continue to rise higher in 2026, making him a prime off-season trade target for dynasty managers.
