MILWAUKEE -- Kaelen Culpepper was in the shower when the moment he had spent his entire baseball life working toward finally arrived.
A clubhouse attendant at Triple-A St. Paul told Culpepper that he needed to report to manager Brian Dinkelman’s office. When Culpepper walked inside and saw the coaching staff and coordinators gathered around, there wasn’t much suspense left.
“I kind of knew what was going on,” Culpepper said. “He broke the news to me. I got pretty emotional. I started crying and stuff.”
Less than 24 hours later, Culpepper walked into the visiting clubhouse at American Family Field as a Major Leaguer.
And the Twins aren’t bringing their No. 2 prospect to Milwaukee simply to watch.
Culpepper, ranked No. 29 overall by MLB Pipeline, was in the starting lineup at shortstop and batting seventh Friday against the Brewers as Minnesota began a three-game series sitting a half-game out of the final American League Wild Card spot.
It didn’t take Culpepper long to make his presence felt. In his second Major League at-bat, Culpepper fell behind 0-2 before jumping on a four-seam fastball at the top of the zone and launching a 390-foot shot into the Brewers’ bullpen in left-center field for his first career hit. The 100.2 mph blast cut Minnesota’s deficit to 4-3 and made Culpepper the first Twins player to homer in his MLB debut since Matt Wallner on Sept. 17, 2022, against Cleveland.
That run wound up proving pivotal in the Twins’ 8-6 victory over the Brewers on Friday night at American Family Field.
“It’s very exciting,” Culpepper said. “I feel like the move came at a time where I can help contribute to win some extra games. I feel pretty good about coming in right now.”
COMPLETE TWINS PROSPECT COVERAGE
That timing is no coincidence.
Minnesota entered Friday 9-10 since the All-Star break, having scored three or fewer runs in 11 of its previous 19 games. The Twins snapped a four-game losing streak with a comeback win Thursday in Kansas City, but with Byron Buxton still sidelined and the offense searching for consistency, manager Derek Shelton said the club believed adding a different element to its lineup could help.
Shelton was careful, however, not to frame Culpepper as the player responsible for fixing it.
“I don’t want to look at it that way, because I don’t want any extra pressure added to Kaelen,” Shelton said. “It’s just a situation where we thought he was ready to come up. We thought it was a good time for our team.”
Culpepper has done plenty to make the Twins believe he is ready.
Minnesota’s first-round pick in the 2024 Draft, the 23-year-old hit .271 with 14 homers, 46 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 74 games with St. Paul this season. A left glute injury interrupted his summer and delayed conversations the Twins had already begun having about a potential promotion, but Culpepper returned from the injured list July 24 and was beginning to heat up again before receiving the call.
Just as importantly, the Twins believe the shortstop who arrived Friday is a significantly better defender than the one they challenged entering the offseason.
“He’s worked harder; he’s become a better defender,” Shelton said. “This is a kid that has some tools. It’s why he’s so highly touted. He’s back healthy, he’s playing well, so we felt it was the right time to be able to bring him to the big leagues.”
Culpepper spent part of the offseason working near his home in Dallas, focusing on explosiveness, power and the finer details necessary to handle the demands of playing every day.
“I think understanding I was really close, and understanding the kind of player I was, this past offseason was huge for me,” Culpepper said. “My first step was honing in on those details, making sure I was ready for play every day, the demands.”
Culpepper also had the opportunity to train around Major League players during the offseason. If anything, the experience helped make the level he was chasing seem a little less distant.
“The biggest thing I learned was that they’re also human,” Culpepper said. “They’re pretty normal. Once you get to know them, they work their butts off, for sure. They work really hard. They’re really good at what they do, and I feel like I got comfortable around them.”
Culpepper received a round of applause during the Twins’ hitters meeting, found his new uniform hanging in a Major League locker and was showered with congratulations from teammates. Around nine or 10 family members and friends were expected to be in attendance for his debut.
The Twins will monitor Culpepper’s workload because of the time he missed with the glute injury and the adjustment from the Minor League schedule to playing potentially every day in the Majors.
But on Friday, none of that mattered. Culpepper has made it. Now he can finally begin showing what got him here.
“Just effort,” Culpepper said when asked what he hoped to bring to Minnesota. “I just want to show off my athleticism, how hard I work. I’ve been grinding. I was grinding down in St. Paul, and just helping to make that push.”