Photo by Michael Johnson
Cito Culver, shown here July 28, 2011 playing for Staten Island against the Batavia Muckdogs, is hitting just .231 in Class A Charleston.
Minor League Baseball
Yankees 2010 top pick struggling
CHARELSTON, SC — Cito Culver isn’t exactly living up to the hype of a Yankees first-round draft pick.
In 53 games for the A-affiliate Charleston RiverDogs, the 19-year-old shortstop is hitting .231 with just two home runs and and 24 RBIs. His hitting woes fall even further when playing at home, where he hits just .184. Defensively he is struggling as well as he has made 14 errors in 53 games.
He spent his first two years playing in Staten Island, where he hit just .250 in 2011.
Culver was drafted in the first round of the 2010 draft by the Yankees to be the guy to replace Derek Jeter when he retires as shortstop, leaving a vacant opening at a position the team has had locked up for over a decade.
New York is hoping that Culver can do all the things Jeter did for the franchise, who has won five World Series rings as a Yankee.
For now, though, the Irondequoit alum is struggling in his minor league role.
Culver is coming off a nice hitting day on Saturday, where he went 2-4 with an RBI and run scored and hopefully he can keep that momentum going.
The prospect still has a long way to go before he takes the field at Yankee Stadium.
