Twins select shortstop Kaelen Culpepper in first round of MLB Draft

The Minnesota Twins selected Kansas State shortstop Kaelen Culpepper with the 21st overall selection in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday night.

Culpepper, 21, hit .328 with six triples, 11 home runs and 59 RBIs as junior at K-State last season.

“I can do everything on the field. You gonna get a dog outta me. I’m just ready to go and start my journey,” Culpepper told ESPN shortly after being drafted.

Later in the night, the Twins took shortstop Kyle DeBarge out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with the 33rd overall pick.

The Twins also selected 6-foot-1, 220-pound third baseman Billy Amick in the second round (60th overall) out of the University of Tennessee. Amick played in 65 games for the Men’s College World Series-winning Volunteers this year, his lone season at Tennessee. He hit .306 (78-for-255) with 14 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs, 65 RBI, 67 runs scored, 29 walks, a .387 on-base percentage and a 1.026 OPS. Prior to transferring to Tennessee, he spent the two seasons at Clemson.

The Twins then selected left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill in Competitive Balance Round B (69th overall) out of Grapevine High School (TX). The 6-foot-5, 165-pound southpaw went 10-0 with a 0.99 ERA, 26 walks and 155 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched his senior season at Grapevine, leading the Dallas-Fort Worth area school to the Texas 5-A state championship.

The Draft continues on Monday.

Twins media relations contributed to this report