Welcome to the Twins Prospect Hot Sheet! We will take a weekly view of multiple players rising on prospect lists due to their recent performance. This could be some of the organization’s top-ranked prospects, but it could also be some under-the-radar names that are putting themselves on the prospect map. Let’s dive in and see who makes this week’s Hot Sheet.
SS Kaelen Culpepper, Cedar Rapids Kernels
The Twins selected Culpepper with the 21st pick in last June’s MLB Draft, from Kansas State University. He was coming off a strong junior season, during which he posted a .993 OPS while transitioning to shortstop after playing third base earlier in his collegiate career. After signing with the Twins, Culpepper started his professional career by going 11-for-37 (.297) with five extra-base hits in nine Low-A games. Minnesota promoted him to High-A to end the year, where he struggled with a .616 OPS and a 13-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Still, there were high hopes for him entering the season.
Hitting the Hot Button: Culpepper missed a little time during the season’s first month with a right wrist strain, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down since returning. Over his last 32 games, he has hit .295/.400/.470 with six home runs and five doubles. He’s gone 11-for-13 in stolen base attempts during that stretch and recorded nearly as many walks (19) as strikeouts (26). He’s cut back on his strikeout rate compared to college, which was likely one of the reasons he fell to the Twins in the draft. The Kernels have also been using him at shortstop every day. The Athletic’s Keith Law updated his top 50 prospects last week, and Culpepper was ranked 45th overall. As Law said, “He’s an above-average shortstop who might get a little better with more consistency, and I might have undersold his bat a little on draft day.”
LHP Connor Prielipp, Wichita Wind Surge
Prielipp is a name familiar to Twins prospect fans, ever since the club took him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Fully healthy, he would have been a first-round pick, but he was returning from Tommy John surgery, raising questions about his durability. Sure enough, injuries have limited him to 30 total innings during his first two professional seasons. There was a lot of buzz surrounding Prielipp this spring, including his three pitches, all of which can be considered plus offerings.
“It’s three 60s — and the slider might be a 70,” Twins farm director Drew MacPhail said about Prielipp’s pitches on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. “He’s gotten a little slider-happy, which we understand because it’s so good. We want him to mix all three a little more evenly; the changeup is a real weapon. When he’s mixing all three, he’s pretty lethal.”
Hitting the Hot Button: Like Culpepper, Prielipp was featured on Law’s updated top prospect list—in that case, as an Honorable Mention—making him a borderline top-100 prospect. The Twins have been careful with his workload this season, as he has yet to throw more than 55 pitches in a game and has pitched a maximum of four innings. Still, the results speak for themselves. He has a 32.1% strikeout rate, with a career-best 5.5% walk rate. Wichita placed Prielipp on its developmental list on May 24, a move that was expected and allows the team to control his innings this season. He returned on Sunday and pitched four shutout innings, with four strikeouts and one walk. There is a chance the Twins could move him to a bullpen role later in the year, if the big-league club needs a lefty with a potential triple-digit fastball and a great slider. (Quick, try to name a club that doesn’t.)
RHP Eli Jones, Fort Myers Miracle
Jones may not be as familiar to fans as the other two players on this week’s Hot Sheet. Minnesota selected him in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft, from the University of South Carolina. In his final collegiate season, he posted a 5.24 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP across 68 2/3 innings in the SEC. After signing last season, the Twins waited to have him make his professional debut until the 2025 campaign. He had pitched a career-high number of innings during his junior year, and the results didn’t match those of his sophomore season. It made sense to have him rest and be ready for the spring.
Hitting the Hot Button: In April, Jones struggled to find his footing, as he allowed 12 earned runs in 22 innings with a 1.36 WHIP. His results have improved significantly since the calendar turned to May. In 21 2/3 innings, he has allowed nine earned runs (3.74 ERA) with a 21-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Batters posted a .656 OPS against him in the season’s first month, and he dropped that by over 100 points in May. In two of his last three appearances, he has compiled seven strikeouts in six innings or less. He’s a long way from Target Field, but his changes over the last month are certainly something to keep an eye on.
Culpepper and Prielipp’s early-round draft status already places them among the best prospects in the Twins organization. However, their performance so far in 2025 is catching national attention, and they will likely start showing up on other lists later this summer. Both players have a chance to advance to the next level later this summer. Jones isn’t among the team’s top prospects, but he’s showing promising signs. The Twins have had success with developing pitchers taken in the later rounds, and Jones can fit this mold.
Which prospect has seen their stock rise the most this season? Leave a comment and start the discussion.
Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!