The Minnesota Twins had four picks on the first night of the MLB Draft, and the early reactions seem to suggest that they nailed it.
Specifically, the reaction of their first round pick says it all.
Minnesota drafted Kaelen Culpepper out of Kansas State with the No. 21 overall pick, and he didn't hide how much the moment meant to him. As soon as his name was called, ESPN cameras cut to an emotional Culpepper who embraced his family and while joyously celebrating the culmination of all his hard work.
Everything that Culpepper has said since that moment has made Twins fans love him even more, which is only deepened by looking further into his game at Kansas State. One thing he said after getting drafted stood out, though, as it doesn't sound like he expected his baseball dreams to come true in Minnesota.
Kaelen Culpepper wasn't expecting the Twins to draft him
While making the media rounds after being selected, Culpepper said he was 'shocked' to hear his name called at the podium by the Twins. It's not that he doesn't want to play for Minnesota, it's that they didn't seem to be that interested in him during the pre-draft process.
Kaelen Culpepper says he goes by K.C. to pretty much everyone except his family. Said he was shocked the Twins took him at No. 21, considering they weren't one of the more active teams in communication with him, but he's thrilled to be with the organization," Twins beat writer Do-Hyoung Park reported.
Culpepper also told Xavier Scruggs that the Twins are going 'get a dog' after drafting him, which is the perfect chaser to watching his emotional reaction to getting picked.
"You're gonna get a dog outta me." - Kaelen Culpepper@Xavier_Scruggs caught up with the @KStateBSB star after he was selected #21 overall by the @Twins. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/TdjaFqOtup
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 15, 2024
There's a decently long road ahead of Culpepper in terms of making his MLB debut. There was a run on college players this year, which suggests we could see guys like Culpepper sooner than we will high schoolers like Walker Jenkins and Charlee Soto, but he'll still have to earn his keep in the minors.
Everything that he's shown so far at Kansas State indicates he's going to impress once we see him. Culpepper isn't a power hitting infielder, but he batted .328/.419/.574 last season and is a base stealing threat who is being talked about as a potential Gold Glove defender.
That's going to fit nicely into Minnesota's infield of the future, with guys like Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, and Brooks Lee already there -- plus Edouard Julien as well. While he may have eben surprised to hear his name, it seems that nobody is upset that Culpepper ended up with the Twins.
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