The Yankees’ first-round pick, shortstop Chris “Cito” Culver from Irondequoit High School in Rochester, N.Y., grew up a fan of the Bronx Bombers. And the 6-foot-2, 175-pound shortstop’s favorite player is another tall, lanky shortstop — Yankees star Derek Jeter.
“I just love the way he plays the game,” Culver said of Jeter on a conference call with reporters yesterday. “He goes hard every time. The best part about his game, to me, is whenever he hits a ground ball, he runs it out hard every time. You can expect that from him, to give his best effort every time.
“That’s someone I want to resemble when I get older, because he’s one of the best to ever play the game.”
Culver is the second high school shortstop drafted by the Yankees since the Bombers took Jeter sixth overall in 1992. The Yankees hope Culver works out better than the last choice, C.J. Henry in 2005, who already is out of baseball.
Culver, a 17-year-old switch-hitter, played for the Yankees’ Area Code Games team last summer, coached by Yankees scout Matt Hyde. The extra exposure the organization had to Culver convinced vice president of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer that he was the right choice with the 32nd pick.
“We’ve been able to see him play for a long time,” he said. “We’ve probably got a couple hundred at-bats with him. The process of seeing a kid from Rochester, where the weather is cold and there’s not a lot of at-bats in the spring, it didn’t matter because we knew so much about him already.”
The Yankees also took a shortstop in the second round — Angelo Gumbs from Torrence (Calif.) H.S. The Bombers also landed St. John’s pitcher Daniel Burawa, a 6-foot-3 right-hander.
Culver hit .561 (37-for-66) with nine home runs and 38 RBIs in 22 regular-season games this year for Irondequoit. He also has dealt with hardships in the past, as his father is in prison for burning down the family’s home on Easter Sunday in 2008.
Culver is committed to Maryland, but Oppenheimer was optimistic the Yankees would be able to get Culver signed quickly.
“He really wants to be a Yankee,” Oppenheimer said. “I think we should get him signed, and get him out playing fairly soon.
“He really has the passion to make it through the minor leagues and play in New York.”