Rising Twins shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper will showcase his talent among baseball’s best young stars at the 2025 MLB Futures Game.
The MLB All-Star Futures Game has long been a glimpse into baseball’s future.
Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Fernando Tatís Jr. all once stood on that stage, before becoming household names.
This year, the Minnesota Twins will be represented by just one player at the showcase, but he is making his presence in the system impossible to ignore.
Kaelen Culpepper, the Twins’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has been named to the 2025 Futures Game roster.
He will take the field at Truist Park in the suburbs near Atlanta on Saturday, July 12, at 4 p.m. ET, standing alongside many of the top prospects in the game
It is no small honor. Every organization gets at least one player on the Futures Game roster, but some get multiple. The Detroit Tigers, for example, will be sending a trio of their rising stars: Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, and Josue Briceño. For the Twins, Culpepper will be their only participant this year, but he is an exceptionally deserving choice. When Minnesota selected Culpepper with the 21st overall pick last summer, the reaction was subdued. Many fans viewed it as a safe selection for a club already flush with infielders. That perception did not last long.
Culpepper flew through the early levels of the minors, finishing 2024 with a brief stint in High-A.
In 2025, he has taken another leap forward, crushing Midwest League pitching with an .864 OPS in 54 games for Cedar Rapids before earning a promotion to Double-A Wichita last week.
He has wasted no time making an impact there either, launching two home runs in his first few games and flashing his athleticism and strong arm at shortstop.
Do you approve of the job the Twins front office is doing?
His ascent is being driven not just by raw tools, but by a mature approach at the plate. If Culpepper continues this trajectory (showing strong contact skills, good plate discipline, and reliable defense), he could realistically factor into the Twins’ big-league plans by this time next year.
It is worth noting that Culpepper’s selection does not mean he is the only bright spot in the Twins’ farm system.
According to Twins Daily’s latest prospect rankings, he ranks fourth. Ahead of him are talents like Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, both of whom may have been strong candidates for the Futures Game had they not been sidelined by injuries.
Jenkins recently returned to action in Wichita after missing time with a left ankle sprain, while Rodriguez just began a rehab stint following a June hip injury.
The Twins have had a steady pipeline from the Futures Game to the majors in recent years, with Luke Keaschall in 2024, David Festa in 2023, and Matt Wallner in 2022 each earning the nod. Culpepper becomes the latest name on that list, and if his development continues at this pace, it will not be long before he is playing under the lights at Target Field, rather than on baseball’s prospect showcase stage.
For now, he will take part in one of the sport’s most exciting annual exhibitions, surrounded by future stars and continuing to raise his stock within the game.
