Kaelen Culpepper is a 21-year old junior infielder for Kansas State. Up until this season for the Wildcats, Culpepper has held down the hot corner on the defensive side of the ball while providing middle of the lineup production on the offensive side of the ball. Last season as a sophomore, Culpepper slashed .325/.423/.576 with a 16/27 BB/K ratio over 182 plate appearances.
Let’s dive into Culpepper a little more:
Height: | 6’0 |
Weight: | 190 |
DOB: | 12/29/2002 |
Frame wise, Culpepper has a lean, but strong build at present and should be expected to grow into more of his “man-strength” in coming years. Here’s a quick look at some of Culpepper’s numbers from his sophomore year (2023) and how he’s fared to this point this season (as of 3/14):
Stance/Setup: | Slightly open, upright setup position with high hands pre-pitch. Relaxed with some rhythm in the box present. |
Upper Half: | Rhythmic medium hand load, high back elbow during load, high slot-entry. Still head. High finish after contact. |
Lower Half: | Leg lift trigger/stride to square, foot strike at 45-degrees w/ average length stride. Transitions from linear to rotational phase efficiently. |
Path: | Significant loft present in path- geared towards handling the lower quadrants of the zone. More compact stroke with 2K’s. |
Approach/Remarks: | Middle/pull power oriented approach, utilizes a more all-fields, contact oriented approach with 2K’s. Average plate discipline. Projects to have average overall bat to ball ability. |
Culpepper has a swing that features above-average bat speed and a path that will consistently elevate batted balls. He gets into his launching position with a tall posture which I think will help him cover pitches elevated in the zone better than many players with a path similar to his. Overall I see him with average bat to ball skills who will have an offensive profile driven by his in-game power production.
I have Culpepper projected to have fringe-average plate discipline mostly because he’s shown vulnerability to chasing breaking balls out of the zone from right-handed pitchers especially. Here’s a look at some relevant charts on that topic from Culpepper’s 2024 campaign so far:
Lets get to some visuals of Culpepper at the plate during game action:
Defensive Notes:
Culpepper moved over to SS from the hot corner this season after spending the previous two springs at 3B (he did get reps at SS each summer). Culpepper has a plus arm and softness to his hands but he lacks the necessary lateral quickness and range to handle SS day in and day out at the professional level and profiles better as a future plus defensive 3B in my eyes.
Culpepper controls his body well coming in on balls and is comfortable making throws on the run. While I think Culpepper would have fringe-average range at the SS position, I see him having plus range at 3B where he can play deep due to his arm strength and has the body control to make the tough instinct plays in front of him. It’s just not an overly quick-twitch oriented body that would make me confident he’d be able to provide average overall defensive value at SS.
Summation:
Culpepper projects to bring value to the table on both sides of the ball in future years as an above-average game pop, plus defensive 3B, with an average hit tool in future years. His path is geared for putting the ball in the air and his solid bat speed will contribute to his ability to do so in game action, especially as his frame continues to mature and add strength.
While I do see Culpepper being able to play the SS position hands and arm wise, I see his fringey lateral range as better suited to 3B where his defensive chops will play at a plus level. I’m confident his offensive profile will be enough to handle the slide down the defensive spectrum. I like Culpepper as a late first round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
(Behind home plate video courtesy of Conor Dorney (@cdorney)