The Minnesota Twins are starting to circle the drain after a promising start to the season. After Tuesday’s 10-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Twins have lost 11 of their past 15 games and fans are looking toward the minor leagues to see who can help.
The biggest absence at the moment is top prospect Kaelen Culpepper. The Twins’ 2024 first-round pick continues to rake in the minor leagues, hitting .270/.373/.496 with 14 homers, 40 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 57 games. But instead of calling him up to inject life into the Twins, Minnesota seems content to run Tristan Gray to shortstop in a move that is costing them games.
With the losses piling up, the excuses to keep Culpepper in the minor leagues are starting to run out and the Twins could use the boost of swapping him out with Gray in the coming days.
Tristan Gray’s poor play could finally convince Twins to call up Kaelen Culpepper
Gray has been a nice story for the Twins this season. A utility man who has bounced between the major and minor leagues since and his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023, he’s already surpassed his career-high, appearing in 41 games this season. His stats are also respectable with a .257/.298/.398 batter’s line with four homers and 26 RBI.
But the 30-year-old journeyman’s carriage is beginning to turn into a pumpkin. Gray is hitting .344 in his last 12 games but has an on-base percentage of .324 because he never walks. While he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify, his 5.6 percent walk rate this season would be the 16th lowest in MLB according to FanGraphs.
In some ways, it’s fitting Gray is behind former Twins All-Star and current San Francisco Giants infielder Luis Arraez (5.2% walk rate) because they share the same iron glove. Gray’s seven errors is tied for the eighth most in MLB right now and even the plays he’s not booting have a negative impact on the team’s chances of winning.
The latest example came in Tuesday’s loss where the Twins were down 8-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Justin Lawrence loaded the bases, he appeared to get out of the inning with a ground ball, but Gray and third baseman Brooks Lee looked at each other as the ball skirted to the outfield and drove in two runs to make it a 10-4 game.
Simply put, the Gray’s carriage is turning into a pumpkin and it may be time to call up Culpepper.
Culpepper’s stats are one thing as he’s on pace for a 36-homer season with the Saints. But it could be an emotional boost for a prospect that would only have to perform at a replacement level to justify a promotion. The Twins also have Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler as capable shortstops, but neither are likely to provide more than average play for a team fading out of contention.
With this being the Twins, the move could be financially motivated as they look to suppress service time. They could also be looking to avoid paying Culpepper a major league salary to play minor league baseball in 2027 as a lockout is looking more likely by the day.
But even if those motivations are true, Culpepper is looking the part of a major leaguer and with Gray going the opposite direction, it may be time to make the call.
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