Twins select SS Kyle DeBarge in First Compensatory Round; 3B Billy Amick selected in second round; LHP Dasan Hill picked in Competitive Balance Round B
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that they have selected shortstop Kaelen Culpepper from Kansas State University with the 21st overall selection in the first round of the 2024 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The 6-foot, 195-pound infielder hit .328 (80-for-244) with 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 for the Wildcats in 2024, earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team for his efforts. Over three seasons at Kansas State, the Memphis, TN native hit .314 (176-for-561) with 32 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs, 122 RBI, 27 stolen bases, 63 walks, 109 runs scored, a .402 on-base percentage and a .934 OPS in 152 games.
In 2023, Culpepper led the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in batting average (.471), on-base percentage (.526) and slugging percentage (.853). He earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2022 and 2023, and in 2022 was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. He is the fourth first-round pick from Kansas State University, joining Charles Coe (1971), Bob Lesslie (1972) and Jordan Wicks (2021).
This is the 12th time the Twins have selected a college infielder with their first overall selection in the First-Year Player Draft, third time in the last six drafts and fourth time since 2011. This year also marks the fifth time in Twins history they have had the 21st overall selection in the MLB Amateur Draft, also doing so in 1971 (Dale Soderholm), 1993 (Jason Varitek), 2003 (Matthew Jones) and 2010 (Alex Wimmers).
Kaelen Culpepper was recommended by Twins scout JR DiMercurio.
The Twins also selected shortstop Kyle DeBarge in the First Compensatory Round of tonight’s draft (33rd overall) out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound infielder 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 Ragin’ Cajuns in the 2024 season and was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. The Kinder, LA native, who turns 21 tomorrow, also earned First-Team All-America honors from D1Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America for his efforts.
Kyle DeBarge was recommended by Twins scout Kyle Van Hook.
The Twins also selected 6-foot-1, 220-pound third baseman Billy Amick in the second round (60th overall) of tonight’s draft out of the University of Tennessee. Amick, 21, 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, and he was named a 2024 Perfect Game Midseason All-American – First Team. Prior to transferring to Tennessee, the Mooresville, NC native spent the 2022-23 seasons at Clemson University, hitting .382 (71-for-186) with 13 home runs and 63 RBI in 55 games for the Tigers.
Billy Amick was recommended by Twins scout Jack Powell.
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.
Dasan Hill was recommended by Twins scout Trevor Brown.
