MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins walked away from day one of the first-year player draft with four newcomers, including three infielders and a left-handed pitcher.
A news release from the ballclub says with the 21st pick, the Twins selected Kaelen Culpepper, a shortstop from Memphis, Tenn. Culpepper stands 6 feet tall and 195 lbs. and has racked up an impressive 15 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs, 59 RBI, 35 walks, 17 stolen bases, a .419 on-base percentage and a .993 OPS in 61 games at Kansas State in 2024.
The infielder has collected several accolades as he led the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in batting average (.471), on-base percentage (.526) and slugging percentage (.853) in 2023, according to the Twins press release.
Kyle DeBarge, of Kinder, La., was the second shortstop added to the Twins roster. DeBarge was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award and hit .356 (91-for-256) with 19 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, 72 RBI, a .699 slugging percentage and a 1.117 OPS in 62 games for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Minnesota continued to stock its lineup of infielders by selecting third baseman Billy Amick of the University of Tennessee in the second round. The Moorsville, N.C. native 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 for the 2024 NCAA Division 1 champions.
To round out Sunday's opening draft day, the Twins selected left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill out of Grapevine High School in Texas. As a 6-foot-5, 165-pound senior, Hill went 10-0 with a 0.99 ERA, 26 walks and 155 strikeouts in 77.0 innings.
The first-year player draft continues Monday afternoon and will go through Tuesday.