Cito Culver’s 2018 Miami Marlins Review

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 135 of 286. For the first 100, click here.

Christopher S. Culver, known more popularly as “Cito,” is a 6′, 205 lb. infielder from Rochester, New York. Born on August 26th, 1992, Culver was selected in the first round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft by the New York Yankees, with the 32nd overall choice out of Irondequoit HS.

Players chosen with the 32nd overall choice have a historic 51 percent chance to reach the majors. The 28-man fraternity is led by Dave Magadan (1983, New York Mets, 21.1 career WAR), Lee Lacy (1969, Los Angeles Dodgers, 20.2 WAR), and Aaron Judge (2013, Yankees, 13.2 WAR).

After signing for a $954,000 bonus, Culver spent the next eight seasons working his way up through the Yankees system. He made stops with the Staten Island Yankees, the GCL Yankees, the Charleston RiverDogs, the Tampa Yankees, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Trenton Thunder, and the Indios de Mayaguez, in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Culver’s final season in the Yankees system would be his best. He played at the triple-A level with the RailRiders for 103 games in the International League, and connected on a career-high 12 home runs. He also hit .223/.282/.398, which is unfortunately just about at his career numbers. After the 2017 campaign, the Yankees released Culver. He later signed on with the Miami Marlins.

Culver started the 2018 season with the New Orleans Baby Cakes, in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. Aside from a three-for-five two-game stop with the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Culver remained with New Orleans for the entire season.

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Culver had 12 multihit games through the season, including a pair of three-hit games. On June 6th, he hit eighth in the order and drew a walk, hit two doubles and a triple, collected three RBI, and scored three runs in a 16-4 drubbing of the Las Vegas 51s. In 67 games for the Baby Cakes, Culver put up a .219/.284/.307 line with four home runs and 24 RBI. He also drew 20 walks, but struck out 78 times in only 240 plate appearances. That’s a 32.5 percent whiff rate for a non-power hitter.

On the plus side is Culver’s dynamic infield skillset. He played at each infield position in 2018, but mostly at shortstop. In 47 contests there, he fielded at a .974 clip. In 21 games at second base, he handled 45 chances without an error. Unfortunately, Culver was Injured on July 19th, and remained on the disabled list through the rest of the season.

After getting activated, Culver elected free agency on November 2nd. He’s free to sign with any organization for 2019 Spring Training.

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