Max Kepler

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #3 prospect in 2016
  The son of American and Polish ballet dancers, Kepler singled on the final day of the 2015 season to become the first player born and raised in Germany with a big league hit. Signed for $800,000 in 2009, then a record bonus for a European position player, he finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla. Having added nearly 20 pounds since signing, Kepler carries little body fat on his impressive frame. A strained left forearm caused him to open 2015 on the disabled list at high Class A Fort Myers, and mild shoulder weakness limited him to first base at other points. Unlike 2013, when a strained throwing elbow slowed him throughout the first half, Kepler quickly moved past those issues and enjoyed a breakout year at Double-A Chattanooga in 2015, claiming the Southern League MVP award. Lefties used to give Kepler trouble, but he handled them better at Double-A. He has some length to his swing but shows excellent pitch recognition and the ability to barrel the ball, no matter where it's pitched. He projects to add more power as he learns to punish mistakes, but his gap power helped him pound out 56 extra-base hits. Some liken him to Christian Yelich for his modest power numbers while showing the ability to play center field and run down balls in the gaps. His arm is accurate but opinions vary on its strength. He runs well for a big man with good instincts on the bases. With Torii Hunter's retirement and the trade of Aaron Hicks, Kepler has an opportunity to win a starting corner-outfield job in 2016. More likely, the Twins will send him to Triple-A Rochester for a little more seasoning, but he might not be there very long.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #12 prospect in 2015
  Kepler still is considered the best prospect ever born and raised in Germany. Signed for $800,000 in 2009, which then was a record bonus for a European position player, he finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla. Having added nearly 20 pounds since signing, Kepler now weights in at a muscular 205. Playing first base for just a dozen games, he focused most of his effort on playing all three outfield positions at high Class A Fort Myers. His arm remains average at best, but he uses his athletic ability well to run down balls in the outfield. Kepler continues to show a balanced lefthanded swing and the ability to work counts and drive the ball to all fields. A good situational hitter, he is learning to do more damage early in counts. A tick above-average as a runner, Kepler projects more like an average hitter and fringe-average power source. Kepler will open 2015 at Double-A Chattanooga.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #11 prospect in 2014
  Born to American and Polish ballet dancers, Kepler is considered the best prospect ever born and raised in Germany. Signed for $800,000 in 2009, he finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla., while attending instructional league. He has added close to 20 pounds since signing. Mature for his age, Kepler is intelligent with a pleasant personality and strong work ethic. After suffering a strained throwing elbow during spring training, he didn't make his 2013 debut until June 20 at low Class A Cedar Rapids and he never felt completely right all season. Sent to the Arizona Fall League, Kepler played first base almost exclusively, showing the soft hands and improved range to project as an above-average defender at the position. His below-average arm hurts him, but he has the athletic ability to play left field as well. At the plate, Kepler's power stroke never fully returned after the elbow injury and he struggled against lefties. His balanced swing and sound two-strike approach give him the ability to drive the ball to all fields and control the strike zone. He is a tick-above-average as a runner, especially once he gets under way. Now a member of the 40-man roster, Kepler figures to open 2014 at high Class A Fort Myers, where he will play left and first base. He must continue to add power to profile at either position.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #10 prospect in 2013
  The son of American and Polish ballet dancers, Kepler is the best prospect ever born and raised in Germany. He signed for $800,000 in 2009, the largest bonus ever for a European position player, then finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla., while participating in instructional league. Repeating the Appalachian League in 2012, he led the circuit in slugging (.539) and total bases (125) before going 2-for-14 for Germany in a World Baseball Classic qualifier. The Twins long have believed in Kepler's athleticism, and he added maturity and strength to his game in 2012. He has put on 17 pounds since signing and now has the physicality to drive the ball to all fields. He has a sound, balanced swing, doesn't mind going deep in counts and has a decent two-strike approach for his experience level. He's getting better as he sees more quality pitching, and his next step will be hitting for more power against lefthanders. A plus runner when he signed, Kepler is more of an average runner now and moved from center to left field when Byron Buxton arrived in Elizabethton. Kepler's fringy arm fits better in left than in right, and he also has gotten work at first base. Kepler is ready for full-season ball at age 20. He'll join Buxton and 2012 draftee Adam Brett Walker in a power-packed Cedar Rapids outfield in 2013.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #20 prospect in 2012
  The son of Polish and American ballet dancers, Kepler isn't German but was born and raised in Berlin and played for Germany in the World Cup in Panama last fall. While Germany went 0-7 at the tournament, he went 8-for-23 (.348) with a homer. Kepler signed for $800,000 in 2009, setting a record for a European amateur position player, and he graduated from high school in Florida in 2010 while also playing in the Gulf Coast League. He's a fluid athlete with solid swing mechanics, though he has to adjust to pro pitching and quality velocity, significant hurdles for a European amateur. He's still developing the natural hitting rhythm and timing that come with experience. He's starting to gain more power as he adds strength, and he'll need to show more of that down the line. Signed as a center fielder, Kepler has started to fill out and has slowed down to an average runner. He'll have to work to remain a center fielder and even mixed in some time at first base last summer. Still a teenager, he's raw defensively with a fringy arm that may limit him to left field if he can't play center. Kepler will have to show improvement in spring training to earn a full-season assignment, and he may be headed for a repeat of the Appalachian League in 2012.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #11 prospect in 2011
  In addition to Miguel Sano, the Twins made another big international splash in 2009, giving Kepler the largest bonus ever for a European position player at $800,000. He's from Berlin and the son of ballet dancers, with his father being Polish, his mother American. Scouts often describe him as balletic or graceful, because they like the joke and because he's an athletic, coordinated big man. His athleticism allowed Kepler to step in as a 17-yearold from Europe and hold his own in the Gulf Coast League last year while also earning his diploma at South Fort Myers (Fla.) High, across Plantation Road from the Twins' complex. His maturity helped make it work as well. Minnesota signed him for his impressive tools, particularly at the plate. He has a gap approach and an easy, low-maintenance swing that belies his age and experience. He has solid strength but has to learn to handle better pitching and how to loft the ball to develop above-average power. It's tricky projecting power on any 17-year-old, moreso one from Germany. Kepler has the range, speed and fringy arm strength to profile as an average defender in center field. He's raw in many baseball skills, such as running the bases and hitting the cutoff man. The Twins are as patient as any organization and Kepler has the makeup to grind through the low minors. He'll need it, as he'll advance one step at a time and play at Elizabethton in 2011.
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #10 prospect in 2010
  The Twins long have scouted Europe more actively than most clubs, and that groundwork paid off with Kepler, whose $800,000 bonus is the largest ever for a European position player. His Polish father and American mother met as ballet dancers in Berlin. He attended instructional league in September and enrolled at Fort Myers (Fla.) High, across the street from the Twins' Florida facility. Kepler has fast-twitch athleticism and graceful actions in the field. He does everything easily--running with plus speed, swinging the bat with authority and gliding after balls in the outfield. He has good hand-eye coordination and excellent size, projecting as every bit the five-tool athlete. He has plus raw power and the makings of a sound swing. Projecting 16-year-olds already is tough, and there's no precedent for Kepler, who's trying to become the first German amateur to reach the major leagues. The Twins' track record with European players has hits and misses, but their experience should help them ease Kepler's adjustment to the United States. He'll have to prove he can hit much better pitching than he saw in Germany. The Twins didn't sign many athletes in the 2009 draft, so the door is open for Miguel Sano and Kapler to establish themselves in Rookie ball in 2010. Kepler will report to extended spring training and play in the Gulf Coast League as a 17-year-old until high school starts again in the fall. He probably won't make it to full-season ball until after he graduates from high school in 2011.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Southern League #6 prospect in 2015
  The German-born Kepler completely changed the perception of his ceiling with an MVP season in the SL in which he led the circuit in on-base percentage (.416) and slugging (.531) and ranked second in the batting race (.322) and with 54 extra-base hits. One scout said Kepler was the most big league-ready prospect in the league. Soreness in his throwing shoulder knocked Kepler out of the Futures Game in July and also forced him to make more starts (36) at first base than any of the three outfield positions. The injury did not impact his ability in the batter's box, however, for Kepler showed off plus bat speed, strong strike-zone awareness and expert pitch recognition by compiling more walks (67) than strikeouts (63) for the first time at any level. Kepler isn't subject to the same platoon-split issues that plague most lefthanded batters because he can shorten his swing with two strikes and take the ball to left field. He backspins the ball well, and Chattanooga hitting coach Chad Allen taught him to pull the ball correctly, so he might develop more home-run power. Most evaluators like Kepler best in center field, where his solid-average speed (he ranked second in the SL with 13 triples and third with 76 runs), solid arm strength and ball-hawk instincts will play so long as his shoulder is sound.
• 
  Ranked American League #7 prospect in 2012
  The son of Polish and American ballet dancers, Kepler was born and raised in Berlin and signed with the Twins for $800,000, the largest bonus ever for an amateur European position player. He batted .267/.352/.372 at Elizabethton in 2011, but a combination of more contact and more power led to a breakout with the league-champion Twins this season. Kepler led the league in slugging (.539) and total bases (125) while ranking second in extra-base hits (31) and RBIs (49). Kepler has grown into his 6-foot-4 frame and has slowed to an average runner, but the Twins will accept that tradeoff because he's become more aggressive as he's grown accustomed to pro ball. Batting third for Elizabethton all season, he showed a mature hitting approach by using the whole field, staying back on breaking balls and rarely going outside his strike zone. One manager thought that he lost power by taking his hand off the bat during his follow-through, but with a more consistent swing he has at least average power potential. Kepler has played all three outfield spots as well as first base, and most evaluators see him as a left fielder in the long term, putting more focus on his offensive production. He has fringy arm strength.
• 
  Ranked Florida Complex League #9 prospect in 2010
  Signed out of Germany for $800,000 in 2009, Kepler received the largest bonus ever given to a European position player. As part of his deal, the Twins allowed him to continue his education at Fort Myers (Fla.) High before he reported to their GCL team, almost literally across the street in the same city, to make his pro debut. Kepler has an easy, compact swing and good hand-eye coordination. While he went homerless in 140 at-bats, it was his first time facing such advanced pitching, and he definitely held his own. His athletic 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame has plenty of room to fill out. He shows gap-to-gap power and hits lots of line drives which could translate into home runs as he gets stronger. He played all three outfield spots this summer, and it remains to be seen whether he'll stay in center or move to a corner. He has average to plus speed and arm strength, and he gets good jumps on balls.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #30 prospect in 2016

• December, 2014 Scouting Report
  Kepler still is considered the best prospect ever born and raised in Germany. Signed for $800,000 in 2009, which then was a record bonus for a European position player, he finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla. Having added nearly 20 pounds since signing, Kepler now weights in at a muscular 205. Playing first base for just a dozen games, he focused most of his effort on playing all three outfield positions at high Class A Fort Myers. His arm remains average at best, but he uses his athletic ability well to run down balls in the outfield. Kepler continues to show a balanced lefthanded swing and the ability to work counts and drive the ball to all fields. A good situational hitter, he is learning to do more damage early in counts. A tick above-average as a runner, Kepler projects more like an average hitter and fringe-average power source. Kepler will open 2015 at Double-A Chattanooga.
• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: The son of American and Polish ballet dancers, Kepler is the best prospect ever born in Germany. He signed for $800,000 in 2009, the largest bonus ever for a European position player, then finished high school in Fort Myers, Fla., while participating in instructional league. Repeating the Appalachian League in 2012, he led the circuit in slugging (.539) and total bases (125) before going 2-for-14 for Germany in a World Baseball Classic qualifier. Scouting Report: The Twins long have believed in Kepler's athleticism, and he added maturity and strength to his game in 2012. He has put on 17 pounds since signing and now has the physicality to drive the ball to all fields. He has a sound, balanced swing, doesn't mind going deep in counts and has a decent two-strike approach for his experience level. He's getting better as he sees more quality pitching, and his next step will be hitting for more power against lefthanders. A plus runner when he signed, Kepler is more of an average runner now and moved from center to left field when Byron Buxton arrived in Elizabethton. Kepler's fringy arm fits better in left than in right, and he also has gotten work at first base. The Future: Kepler is ready for full-season ball at age 20. He'll join Buxton and 2012 draftee Adam Brett Walker in a power-packed Cedar Rapids outfield in 2013.