Cito Culver


Christopher S. "Cito" Culver is an American professional baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent. 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. While he had already committed to play college baseball for the University of Maryland, he passed on his commitment and instead signed a contract reportedly worth $954,000 with the Yankees. He made his professional debut that season for the Gulf Coast Yankees. He was later promoted to the Staten Island Yankees. Overall in 56 games he hit.251/.325/.330 with two home runs.
Culver played the 2011 season with Staten Island. In 69 games he hit.250/.323/.337 with two home runs. In 2012, he played for the Charleston RiverDogs. He hit.215/.321/.283 and two home runs in 122 games. Culver decided to stick to batting right-handed rather than switch hitting prior to the 2013 season. He started the season back with Charleston. In August he was promoted to the Tampa Yankees. Overall, he hit.248/.322/.362 with nine home runs. He remained with Tampa for the 2014 season and in 132 games, he batted.220/.298/.303 with 5 homers, 48 RBI, and 12 steals, playing 130 of the games at shortstop while serving as the DH the other two. Culver spent 2015 with both the Trenton Thunder and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where he posted a combined.207 batting average with 3 home runs and 30 RBI's between both teams. In 2016, Culver also split time between the Thunder and the Railriders, where he batted.254 with 4 home runs and 51 RBI's. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Miami Marlins

On January 9, 2018, Culver signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Rockland Boulders

On February 8, 2019, Culver signed with the Rockland Boulders of the independent Can-Am League.

Sussex County Miners

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.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

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

Personal

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.