Cito Culver
Culver with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in 2016
Cleburne Railroaders
Shortstop
Born: (1992-08-26) August 26, 1992 (age 31)
Rochester, New York
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Christopher S. "Cito" Culver (born August 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.

Career

Culver attended Irondequoit High School in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester. He played little league for Irondequoit Athletic Association.

New York Yankees

Culver was selected by the New York Yankees with their first-round pick, 32nd overall, in the 2010 MLB Draft.[1] While he had already committed to play college baseball for the University of Maryland,[2][3] he passed on his commitment and instead signed a contract reportedly worth $954,000 with the Yankees.[4] He made his professional debut that season for the Gulf Coast Yankees.[5] He was later promoted to the Staten Island Yankees.[6][7] Overall in 56 games, Culver hit .251/.325/.330 with two home runs and 18 RBI.[8]

Culver spent the entire 2011 season with Staten Island, posting a slash line of .250/.323/.337 with two home runs and 33 RBI in 69 games.[9] In 2012, he played for the Charleston RiverDogs, batting .215/.321/.283 with two home runs and 40 RBI in 122 games.[10] Culver decided to stick to batting right-handed rather than switch hitting prior to the 2013 season.[11] He started the season back with Charleston.[12] In August, he was promoted to the Tampa Yankees.[13] Overall, he hit .248/.322/.362 with nine home runs and 34 RBI in 120 games.[8] He remained with Tampa for the 2014 season and in 132 games, he batted .220/.298/.303 with five home runs, 48 RBI, and 12 steals, playing 130 of the games at shortstop while serving as the DH the other two.[14] Culver spent 2015 with both the Trenton Thunder and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where he posted a combined .207 batting average with three home runs and 30 RBI in 114 combined games between both teams.[8] In 2016, Culver also split time between the Thunder and the RailRiders, where he batted .254 with four home runs and 51 RBI in 117 games.[8] Culver played his final season in the Yankees organization in 2017, batting .224 with 12 home runs and 48 RBI in 103 games with the RailRiders.[15] He elected free agency after the 2017 season.[16]

Miami Marlins

On January 9, 2018, Culver signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins.[17] He split the season between the Double–A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Triple–A New Orleans Baby Cakes, playing in 69 games and hitting .227/.299/.314 with 4 home runs and 27 RBI.[18] Culver elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Sussex County Miners

On February 8, 2019, Culver signed with the Rockland Boulders of the independent Can-Am League.[19] On June 14, he was claimed off waivers by the Sussex County Miners of the Can-Am League. Culver was signed to a contract extension by the Miners on January 8, 2020.[20]

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

On February 21, 2020, Culver was traded to the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.[20] The T-Bones were not selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] He was later drafted by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the 2020 dispersal draft.[22][23] Culver was released on July 18, 2020.[24]

Sussex County Miners (second stint)

On November 27, 2020, Culver signed with the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League.[20] In 2021, Culver played in 95 games for Sussex County, slashing .275/.373/.405 with 7 home runs, 45 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.[25] He played in 50 games for the team in 2022, but struggled to a .196/.344/.294 slash with 2 home runs and 18 RBI.[26]

Tri-City ValleyCats

On July 18, 2022, Culver was claimed off waivers by the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League.[27] He played in 37 games for Tri-City to close out the year, hitting .329/.413/.557 with 6 home runs, 18 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.[28]

Culver signed a contract extension with the ValleyCats before the 2023 season.[29] In 95 games for the team in 2023, he batted .299/.402/.443 with 12 home runs, 53 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.[30]

Cleburne Railroaders

On November 17, 2023, Culver and Trey Hair were traded to the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball in exchange for two players to be named later.[31]

Mumbai Cobras

Culver was drafted in October 2023 by the Mumbai Cobras in the inaugural draft of the Baseball United league.[32]

Personal

Culver grew up a fan of the Yankees and Derek Jeter.[33] His father served nine years in Attica Correctional Facility for attempting to set his family's house on fire on March 22, 2008. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. By terms of the plea agreement, Culver can have no contact with his father.[34]

References

  1. ^ Hoch, Bryan (June 8, 2010). "Yanks stay close to home by tabbing Culver". New York Yankees. MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  2. ^ "Yankees pick Irondequoit's Culver in the first round". Democrat and Chronicle. June 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  3. ^ "Yankees notes: Cito Culver happy to be Yankees' pick". North Jersey Media Group. June 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ Hoch, Bryan (June 18, 2010). "Yankees sign top Draft pick Culver". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  5. ^ Pucko, Bill (December 13, 2010). "Destiny is at the door for Irondequoit's Cito Culver". Daily Messenger. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "Cito Culver promoted to Staten Island". Democrat and Chronicle. August 20, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "First-round pick Culver takes his first step toward the Bronx - silive.com". web.archive.org. January 25, 2021. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ a b c d "Cito Culver Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  9. ^ "2011 Staten Island Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "2012 Charleston RiverDogs Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Miller, Andrew (May 23, 2013). "Charleston RiverDogs shortstop Cito Culver making adjustment at the plate". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  12. ^ Norris, Josh (March 23, 2013). "Yanks' prospect Cito Culver ready to take next step". The Trentonian. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Oklobzija, Kevin (August 14, 2013). "Cito Culver collects pair of hits in debut with Class A Yankees". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Cito Culver Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  15. ^ "2017 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Eddy, Matt (November 7, 2017). "Minor League Free Agents 2017". College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  17. ^ Eberle, DJ (January 9, 2018). "RailRiders utility man Cito Culver signs with Marlins". Times Leader. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  18. ^ "Cito Culver's 2018 Miami Marlins Review". marlinmaniac.com. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  19. ^ "Rockland Boulders sign former Yankees' first-round pick Cito Culver". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  20. ^ a b c "2020 Transactions - Frontier League". Frontier League. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  21. ^ Baseball, American Association of Professional (June 12, 2020). "American Association of Professional Baseball - AMERICAN ASSOCIATION UNVEILS PLANS FOR 2020 SEASON". American Association of Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Baseball, American Association of Professional (June 17, 2020). "American Association of Professional Baseball - 42 PLAYERS SELECTED IN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION DISPERSAL DRAFT". American Association of Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  23. ^ "REDHAWKS PICK UP 8 IN DISPERSAL DRAFT - Fargo Moorhead RedHawks". June 17, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  24. ^ "American Association of Professional Baseball - 2020 Transactions". American Association of Professional Baseball. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  25. ^ "2021 Sussex County Miners Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  26. ^ "2022 Sussex County Miners Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Singelais, Mark (July 18, 2022). "Tri-City ValleyCats add former Yankees first-round pick". Times Union. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "2022 Tri-City Valley Cats Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "VALLEYCATS RESIGN VETERAN SS CITO CULVER". March 3, 2023.
  30. ^ "2023 Tri-City Valley Cats Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 Transactions". aabaseball.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  32. ^ Ramasubramanian, Deepa (October 28, 2023). "Mumbai Cobras' inaugural draft picks for Baseball United". The Bridge - Home of Indian Sports. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  33. ^ Singelais, Mark (July 23, 2022). "Cito Culver, once seen as Derek Jeter's replacement, happy to join ValleyCats". Times Union. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  34. ^ Coffey, Wayne (June 26, 2010). "Cito Culver, who may succeed Derek Jeter at shortstop for Yanks, shoulders burden of family tragedy". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 26, 2010.

External links

2010 Major League Baseball draft first round selections
New York Yankees first-round draft picks
Categories