Culver homers twice in extra innings win

April 9, 2013 by Mike Axisa 82 Comments

Triple-A Scranton (2-1 loss to Rochester)

CF Melky Mesa: 0-4, 2 K
2B Corban Joseph: 1-2, 2 BB — five walks and three strikeouts through six games
LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-4, 2 K
C Austin Romine: 2-4, 1 R, 2 K
LHP Vidal Nuno: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6/5 GB/FB — 60 of 85 pitches were strikes (71%) … all he has to do is keep getting outs, and eventually he’ll get his opportunity
RHP Mark Montgomery: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 25 of 36 pitches were strikes (69%)

Double-A Trenton (5-1 win over New Hampshire)

CF Slade Heathcott: 1-4, 1 BB
LF Ramon Flores: 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB — first walk of the year for the hitter with the system’s most advanced approach
RF Tyler Austin: 0-5, 2 K
C J.R. Murphy: 3-5, 2 R — glad he’s hitting early on
3B Casey Stevenson: 4-4, 3 RBI
RHP Caleb Cotham: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HB, 4/4 GB/FB — 49 of 72 pitches were strikes (68%)
LHP Jeremy Bleich: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2/2 GB/FB — 26 of 43 pitches were strikes (60%)
RHP Tommy Kahnle: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K — eight of 17 pitches were strikes (47%)

High-A Tampa (4-2 win over Dunedin)

CF Mason Williams: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 K — five walks and five strikeouts through five games
2B Angelo Gumbs: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 SB
LF Ben Gamel: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K — has a double in every game so far
C Gary Sanchez: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K — has carried last season’s success over to this year so far
DH Carmen Angelini: 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 HBP
RHP Scottie Allen: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 4/2 GB/FB
RHP Nick Goody: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 0/1 GB/FB — apparently he left the game due to injury, but no confirmation

Low-A Charleston (10-7 win over West Virginia in 11 innings)

SS Cito Culver: 2-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K — he hit two homers in each of the last three seasons, so it’s safe to say this is a career night … probably should have ditched the whole switch-hitting thing a little earlier, huh?
2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-6, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 2 E (fielding) — scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch
1B Greg Bird: 1-6, 3 K
3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 1-3, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
C Peter O’Brien: 1-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 PB, 1 E (throwing)
DH Yeicok Calderon: 3-6, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K — Yeicokshot! … also got picked off second
LHP Daniel Camarena: 4 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 9/1 GB/FB — not the full season debut I was hoping to see, but shake it off and give it another guy in five days
RHP Brett Gerritse: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 3/1 GB/FB — solid work

YankeesJunkie

Love the multiple innings from Montgomery thus far along with the Ks. Hopefully he will be up soon.
- http:/www.twitter.com/_swarlesbarkley Mark Teixiera – Ghostbuster (formerly Drew)
  
  I don’t think that Cashman’s/Girardi comments (especially when they cut Aardsma) about wanting relievers that can pitch multiple innings and Montgomery going multiple are a coincidence. If the middle relief corps are still sucking by the end of April/ middle of May Montgomery (say that three times) will be in the Bronx. This excites me very much so.
  - Samuel
    
    Most of the top Yankee relievers over the last half dozen years have thrown multiple innings in the minors. David Robertson used to go two innings regularly and up to three innings on occasion.
    
    It is nothing new, but this tactic does not usually translate to the major leagues as Girardi never really allows two innings from young guys, unless it is mop up work.
    
    I would go with 4-5 power arms in the ML bullpen, and have guys go two innings regularly and spread their appearances out.
    
    But, unless the starter is getting knocked around, I would also allow my starters to go 135-140 pitches a game, too, which would eliminate the need for many relievers.
- trr
  
  yes, very soon
JobaWockeeZ

My eye will be on Cotham. Solid sleeper to make the midseason top 20.
- zs190
  
  He’s 25 and haven’t made it out of A ball. If everything breaks right, maybe he can be a potential 7th inning guy when he’s 27…
  - RetorRob
    
    Age is much less important when rating the prospect status of pitchers than it is position players. A 25-year-old in AA can still be a prospect.
    
    That all said, know nothing about the dude!
    - YankeeGrunt
      
      Also he’s a college arm, so an injury can slow that trajectory just a little bit.
  - A.D.
    
    Had injuries early on which killed a couple years and was a college arm so that’s why he’s so old
Bob Buttons

A careless prediction for breakout prospect: Cito Culver.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Watch him turn into Mike Trout now that he’s not switch hitting.
  - https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
    
    Naw. Dhats ridiculous.
    
    He’ll become PROFAR!!! Weeeeeh!
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Don’t be crazy. Profar’s a switch hitter.
      
      We’ll just have to settle for Derek Jeter with better defense.
  - leftylarry
    
    I can see giving up switch hitting helping his average and confidence but I’d have to say belting 2 HR’s in one game, this early, has more to do with physical maturity than giving up switch hitting.
    He’s still only 20 year’s old now.
- Wolfgangs Fault
  
  How about two breakout organizational types? Casey Stevenson & Jose Pirella, two quality players that could still make it to the show. Nice night for JR Murphy!
  - Cool Lester Smooth
    
    Yeah…Pirela might be an MLB utility man for a few years. I’d be shocked if he’s anything more, though.
Robinson Tilapia

Mr. Culver has shown up for work.
felixpanther

Angelini still in the team?
- JobaWockeeZ
  
  Haha sadly so…
- RollingWave
  
  that was the first thing that really caught my eye too
forensic

Geez, Mesa needs something along the lines of a tennis racket to make contact.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  BUT WE NEED TO PLAY TEH KIDS!!!!!!!
  - vicki
    
    right? what a hacker.
- Caballo Sin Nombre
  
  As long as the strings are not too far apart.
- curtis granderson
  
  Yeah, if you’re gonna strikeout, you better hit 40 HR
Manny’s BanWagon

I don’t know who’s more surprising, Culver or Angelini.
- Havok9120
  
  Melvin Croussett.
  - vin
    
    When is he HOF eligible anyway? Surprised it has taken this long.
    - Havok9120
      
      They voted him in immediately after he left baseball to pursue his work on fusion power generation. They would have done so years earlier but he refused to allow it until he was properly eligible. After it became clear his research would keep him from the game long-term the committee decided to overrule his wishes and elect him in hopes of luring him back to the mound.
      - vicki
        
        gold.
The Real Greg

Bichette also having a nice start to the season.
- http://www.itsaboutthemoney.net Mike Eder
  
  He changed up his swing and dropped the huge leg stride. GIF’d it up here.
  - Havok9120
    
    Well that’s cool. It’s always nice when there’s some tangible reason for a player’s improvement rather than us just having to hope it’s “clicked” for him.
    - http://www.itsaboutthemoney.net Mike Eder
      
      Agreed. Got another post on Culver tomorrow. He’s also showing a very different right-handed swing. Exciting stuff in Charleston.
      - Bryan V
        
        Shameless plug, Mike. JK, great new site, and good article on Bichette.
        
        RAB and IATMS is turning into the old WWF/WCW Monday night wars of yester-year.
        
        http://itsaboutthemoney.net Jason @ IIATMS
        
        Ain’t no war. We’re both fighting the Axis of Evil: Subway Squawkers and Was Watching
        
        RAB folks is good people.
TJ

Nice to see Mr Sanchez doing what he needs to be doing. Even though the Yanks are on a three game winning streak, I still get excited reading how the guys down below are taking care of business.
CS Yankee

Could Nuno get a shot as a SP this year?

Don’t want to see it though as the suck or injury bug would need to occur for it to happen, guessing;
4) Nova
5) Hughes
6) Phelps
7) Warren
8) Marshall or Nuno

Phelps and Warren might be a problem soon as neither would be stretched out long enough to throw 90-120 pitches, hopefully Nova gets going…Hughes is destined, I believe, to live a 4.80 career.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Sure, if he adds 4 mph to his fastball.
  
  It was at 84 touching 86 when I saw him in Portland last summer.
- forensic
  
  In time, Pineda will be ahead of him on that list too.
  - CS Yankee
    
    Great point, Pineda might bump one of the 4/5 guys come late summer.
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Goodbye, Ivan. (If we’re lucky)
jeety

Go cito… we need a ss to get ready
Mattchu12

I’d love to see Nuno and Montgomery replace Kelley and whoever gets traded of Nova/Phelps/Warren in the near future.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Why? Nuno’s a month older than Adam Warren and he doesn’t have anything approaching Warren’s stuff.
  - Mattchu12
    
    I didn’t say Warren was my first choice, I actually like him more than Phelps and Nova (and Phelps over Nova), and I meant for the bullpen. I see one of those three getting package with say Nunez to get some help in July.
    - Mattchu12
      
      First choice to get traded, I mean.
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Oh, I consider Warren the worst of the three, and I don’t particularly like Nova. I just expect even less out of a 25 year old who throws like Jamie Moyer.
      - Mattchu12
        
        I’ve always been an irrational fan of Warren. I love how many different looks his fastball can come in at. I don’t see him as a great starter, but I do see him as a reliable #4 more realistic than I do with Nova or Phelps. I like Phelps out of the bullpen, and I think Nova is AJ Burnett the sequel.
        
        I see Nuno in the Boone Logan mold. Very little faith in him as a starter.
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        I agree with Nova as AJ, but I’m reversed on Phelps and Warren just because Phelps is throwing 93 instead of 91
        
        Deathstroke Heathcott
        
        While I don’t think Warren is better than Phelps, velocity isn’t everything. 91 mph from a slightly more unpredictable plane can often be more deceptive than a straight 93 mph.
      - Kosmo
        
        Moyer had 269 career wins. Pitchers don´t need to throw hard to be successful.
        
        Samuel
        
        Whitey Ford.
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        Threw harder than Nuno does. In the 50s. And was worth 2.8 bWAR in the majors at the same age that Nuno was pitching in A+ and AA, and 3.6 WAR in the majors when he was the same age as Nuno is now.
        
        Samuel
        
        Nuno throws just like Ford does. Not much velocity, change up on the outside corners and a sweeping breaking ball.
        
        I don’t care how old a player is when they are pitching. So when you say Ford was younger than Nuno in the majors when he started, it doesn’t matter to me.
        
        What matters is that if Nuno continues to get out hitters in Triple A, that he get an opportunity to start in the majors.
        
        And if Nuno gets out major league hitters on a consistent basis, what does it matter how old he is?
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        Nuno throws 84-86 in 2013. Whitey Ford threw 86-89 in 1950, when the average fastball speed was slower.
        
        Also, comparing a prospect to Whitey Ford because he throws slowly and has done pretty well in AA is just as silly as comparing Dellin Betances or Andrew Brackman to Randy Johnson because they’re tall pitchers with control problems.
        
        Vidal Nuno’s career is far more likely to resemble Pedro Feliciano’s than it is Whitey Ford’s.
        
        Samuel
        
        I said Nuno throws the ball like Whitey Ford did, based upon the strength of his pitches AND his location placement. A couple MPH in the 80s means nothing to hitters.
        
        I wasn’t comparing Nuno to Ford other than they throw the ball the same way, with the same pitches and the same velocity.
        
        Tom Glavine was the same way for much of his career.
        
        But I would never compare the results of Glavine with Ford or with Nuno, but I DO compare the styles of pitching.
        
        If you don’t understand that, then you need to stop trying to read between the lines in order to find something to complain about.
  - emac2
    
    Stuff???
    
    Don’t results even register?
    
    Nuno has been unhittable for a year now. Warren has looked like something between AAA and AAAA. How can you wonder how someone would rank Nuno one spot ahead of him just because Warren can throw a little harder?
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Adam Warren was in AA when he was 22 and had a better K/BB and HR/9 than Nuno did at age 24. I’m just not that impressed by a 24 year old soft tosser putting up shiny stats in AA.
Wayne

If they are going to make Adam warren a starter they should do it now or they will ruin him like they did joba. Hopefully they do not do the same to José Ramírez next year or Rafael de Paula later on. My bet is that may come true or that they get traded especially ramirez and depaula! I am not happy with hal steinbrenner’s recent statement of putting championship team out there every year! That is not realistic! He mentions campos and Pineda but neither one of those guys will work out cause they have injury problems! Jose Ramirez and Rafael dePaula are our best starting pitching prospects if you really think about it! They have the best bodies, they throw hard and best mechanics and over all talent which are the best combination of any starting pitchers i see in the yankees farm system! Their potential is also the highest of anyone!
- dkidd
  
  ietc!
  - Cool Lester Smooth
    
    As did I.
  - Cool Lester Smooth
    
    It was like reading Mrs. Dalloway for the first time all over again.
    - Robinson Tilapia
      
      This is what I come to RAB for. Our comments are so much more cultured.
Deathstroke Heathcott

:/
YankeePankee

I see the Indians released Robert Whitenack, a Queens kid, who threw 96 with plus breaking stuff before Tommy John surgery last season. He’s out of options.
I think Yanks should pick him up. He’s only 24 and a big dude, 6-5, and will get his velo back in time. Stick him in minors and give it a shot.
Michelle Axisa

Yay for cock!

Mr. Culver meets Mr. HGH
Brian in MA

That Camarena line doesn’t look right. How could we possibly get a 10-3 win and the kid gives up 6 runs?
- A.D.
  
  Was actually a 10-7 win
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  I have a knack for screwing up the game scores.
Jim Is Bored

It’d be really awesome to see big years out of Culver and Bichette.
- emac2
  
  I was just thinking what a mind blower it would be for Culver and Angelini to make the Yanks top 30 next year.
  
  Small minor league samples are awesome!
Rick

While still very early in the season, it appears that Culver has figured something out. Maybe the switch-hitting was destroying his confidence at the plate. It can’t be easy to basically record an out every time you bat lefty and then all of the sudden try and get comfortable from the right side again. Whatever you’re doing Cito, keep it up.
John C

Can Angelini actually salvage his career?
Perry

I’d like to think there’s a reason that Angelini is still there, given how little he has played in the last few years. Maybe they still see ability. I can’t imagine the money is that big a deal, considering other teams cut guys all the time who got bigger bonuses than he did.
Vern Sneaker

I saw Culver play twice with Staten Island hitting lefty and he was pathetic. Not just 0-fers but he looked not much better than I did when I tried switch-hitting as a teenager for the hell of it in county leagues. (I wasn’t much better right-handed.) But he could really pick it, and with a strong arm. A true shortstop. Here’s hoping . . .
Bryan

Not sure why people think Nuno can’t stick as a starter since he has iffy velocity. Not sure if you guys saw the game last night, or the one 5 nights ago featuring Andy Pettite, but velocity isn’t everything. Sure you need to be a bit better in regards to control. And some days you are going to get hit…hard. But the fact is that Nuno has pitched extremely well against all competition and should deserve a shot to start.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Hahaha. Vidal Nuno would sell his soul to sniff the velocity of a 41 year old Andy Pettitte. He was sitting at 84 when I saw him last summer.
greg

milb.com and baseball reference still has him as a switch hitter. anyone know which side he dropped?
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  He’s only hitting righty now.
  - greg
    
    thanks
FLYER7

Angelini may be a career minor leaguer, non-prospect, filling an organizational need at a position they may not have a prospect ready for that level…