Outfielder Walker Jenkins, the No. 5 overall pick in 2023, is the Twins’ clear-cut top prospect and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He’s dealt with some injuries in his young professional career, but he’s now healthy and reminding everyone of his star-level upside.
Shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, the No. 21 pick in last year’s draft, has exceeded expectations by quite a bit over his first full year of pro ball. He’s rising up prospect lists and has a real case to be considered the Twins’ second-best prospect behind Jenkins, even ahead of guys like Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall.
The two recent first-round picks are the top two hitters in the Wind Surge lineup. And on Tuesday, they continued their recent hot stretches by crushing back-to-back homer runs off of former All-Star Michael Lorenzen, who is on a rehab assignment with the Royals. In the bottom of the second inning, Culpepper launched a hanging breaking ball for a three-run shot to left, and Jenkins followed him by demolishing a high fastball out to right.
Jenkins, who is still just 20 years old, missed two months early this season with an ankle injury, which caused him to drop from No. 3 to No. 12 on MLB.com’s top 100 prospect list. But he’s found his power stroke lately. Over his last seven games, Jenkins has gone 14 for 28 with four homers and two doubles, raising his season OPS with Wichita from .772 to .923 in the process. He’s hitting .310 and has also stolen nine bases in 38 games.
Culpepper, 22, has put up even better numbers in Double-A this year. He raked at High-A Cedar Rapids, earned a call-up, and has actually improved his stats at the higher level. Across 31 games with Wichita, he’s hitting .346 with seven homers, six steals, and a .968 OPS. Between the two levels, Culpepper has hit .313 with 16 homers, 21 steals, and a .903 OPS over 85 games. It’s been an incredible first full season of pro ball for the Kansas State product. MLB.com lists Culpepper as the Twins’ No. 5 prospect (No. 84 overall), but he’s making a strong case to move up on that list.
Jenkins and Culpepper are both hitting so well that they may find themselves with Triple-A St. Paul before the end of this season. They could be in the big-league mix as soon as the middle of next season if they continue to produce. Jenkins has all the makings of a future star in the Twins’ outfield, and Culpepper — especially now that Carlos Correa is gone — looks like the team’s shortstop of the future.
If all goes well, the Twins could have a pretty exciting position-player core of Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Keaschall, Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Culpepper moving forward. The future looks bright.
