The Twins announced on Tuesday that they added lefty pitchers Kendry Rojas and Connor Prielipp, righty pitchers Andrew Morris and John Klein, and outfielders Gabriel Gonzalez and Henry Mendez to their 40-man roster, protecting them from next month's Rule 5 Draft.
Shockingly, the Twins elected not to protect one promising pitching prospect from the Rule 5 Draft.
Twins surprisingly decline to protect right-handed pitching prospect C.J. Culpepper from Rule 5 Draft
Culpepper, 24, is the Twins' No. 17-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Minnesota selected Culpepper out of California Baptist in the 13th round (384th overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft. He has shown plenty of promise since being drafted, but has been sidelined frequently due to numerous injuries.
In his first full season (2023) of professional baseball, Culpepper posted a 3.56 ERA with a 24.9% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate across 86 innings in High-A and Low-A.
Culpepper logged just 58 1/3 innings in 2024 due to injuries. He began that season posting a 2.89 ERA in 37 1/3 innings with High-A Cedar Rapids before being promoted to Double-A Wichita, where he struggled with a 4.71 ERA in 21 innings.
The 2025 campaign was another injury-plagued season for Culpepper, as he began the year on the Injured List until he was reinstated on June 14. Culpepper had good results for the Wind Surge this past season, posting a 2.43 ERA in 59 1/3 innings. However, he had a less-than-ideal 12.4% walk rate and an okay 21.2% strikeout rate, leading to a FIP of 4.27.
Did the Twins make a mistake by declining to protect C.J. Culpepper from the Rule 5 Draft?
Ideally, the Twins could have protected Culpepper from the Rule 5 Draft by adding him to their 40-man roster. However, by adding Rojas, Prielipp, Morris, Klein, Gonzalez and Mendez, in addition to trading for righty reliever Eric Orze, the Twins' 40-man roster became completely full. All seven of those players could be key contributors to the Twins' future. Culpepper can be as well, but his injury history and struggles are cause for concern. Hopefully, no one selects him in the Rule 5 Draft, but if a team does, it won't be the end of the world for Minnesota.