Malcom Culver

Malcom A. Culver (born February 9, 1990)^[1] is an American professional baseball pitcher currently in the Kansas City Royals organization. At present, he is with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.

He attended Palmdale High School in Palmdale, California.^[2] He signed a letter of intent with San Diego State University to play baseball and football, but was drafted instead.^[3] The Royals took him as a pitcher in the eighth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft and he began his professional career that season. He switched to an infielder to begin his pro career.^[4] He hit .192 in 12 games for the AZL Royals his first year, and single pitching start for the club, allowing no runs in two innings. In 2009 and 2010, he hit .222 and .217 in 67 and 66 games, respectively. He played for the Burlington Royals and Idaho Falls Chukars those years. He converted to pitching and returned to Burlington for 2011, posting a 8.03 ERA with a .865 WHIP in 18 relief appearances; he also averaged more than a strikeout per inning. In 2012, he was with the Kane County Cougars, going 2-1 with six saves and a 3.69 ERA in 37 appearances. In the fall, he played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, going 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in five appearances. Between the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2013, Culver went 5-5 with a 2.72 ERA in 40 games; he allowed just 57 hits in 86 innings. He returned to the Arizona Fall League that year, playing for the Peoria Javelinas and going 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 games.

He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2014. Between the Naturals and Storm Chasers, he was 4-5 with a 4.57 ERA. In his first taste of Triple-A, he was 0-1 with a 7.36 mark in three games. He spent all of 2015 with Northwest Arkansas, going 2-6 with a 4.19 mark in 43 games. He won the Mike Sweeney Award that year.^[5] He began 2016 with Omaha.

He's played in major league spring training each year since 2013.^[6]

His father, Lanell Culver, played in the Cincinnati Reds organization from 1981 to 1984.^[7]

References