Eighth Rounder Peyton Culbertson’s Miami Marlins Future

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 89 of 286. Stay tuned.

Peyton J. Culbertson is a 6’1″, 200 lb. right-handed pitcher from Collierville, Tennessee. Three major leaguers have originated out of Collierville, Drew Pomeranz, Phillip Irwin, and Marv Throneberry. Born on April 18th, 1997, Culbertson was selected in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB Amateur Entry Draft, with the 237th overall selection out of Arkansas State University by the Miami Marlins. You can follow him on Twitter @pj_culbertson.

As a 237th overall selection, Culbertson joins a fraternity that places 24 percent of its members into the major leagues. The most accomplished of those are Milt May (1968, Pittsburgh Pirates, 16.5 career WAR), Jeffrey Hammonds (1989, Toronto Blue Jays, 8.6 WAR), and Dave LaPoint (1977, Milwaukee Brewers, 7.0 WAR).

In three season with the ASU Red Wolves, Culbertson made 45 pitching appearances, including 31 starts. He went 11-12 with a 5.28 ERA, with 145 strikeouts in 161 1/3 innings and a 1.59 WHIP. After the draft, Culbertson signed with the Miami Marlins for a $130,000 bonus.

On June 24th, Culbertson reported to the GCL Marlins, Miami’s rookie-level, Florida-based Gulf Coast League team. He made two appearances and worked four innings. He walked five, struck out two, and allowed two runs on three hits. 10 days later, he was promoted to the short-season-A New York-Penn League team, the Batavia Muckdogs.

Culbertson had better results in a larger sample size with the Muckdogs. He played in nine games for them, making seven starts and whiffing 29 in 30 innings of work. He earned a 1-3 record with a microscopic 2.08 ERA, despite a middling 1.36 WHIP.

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On June 29th, in a 6-3 loss to the GCL Mets, Culbertson pitched three one-hit shutout innings in a start. On August 23rd, he started and struck out four over three perfect innings, in a 1-0, seven-inning win over the Williamsport CrossCutters. In his next appearance, he started and struck out seven over four shutout two-hit innings in a 1-0 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Short story shorter, Culbertson got better and better as the season progressed, and he’s primed for the next step. It’s likely he starts the 2019 season with the single-A Clinton LumberKings, in the Midwest League. With the proper development, he can progress through the minor leagues in time to break Spring Training with the Miami Marlins in 2021.

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