OF Bill Cullen
2012 Mat-Su Miners
H/W: 5’8″ 170lb
B/T: Left/Left
2012 School: Virginia Commonwealth (NCAA DI)
2012 Class: Sophomore
Draft eligibility: 2013 (DI Jr.), 2014 (DI Sr.)
Hometown: Colonial Heights, Virginia
All Posts Regarding Bill Cullen
The season’s winding down, I’ve got a lot of notes on a lot of players, and a little bit of time to take a break from the games to catch up on some other stuff. So let’s keep the player profile rotation going and put the spotlight on one of the most electrifying players of the Mat-Su Miners, and the entire ABL, this season: VCU sophomore outfielder Bill Cullen.
Bill Cullen hails from Colonial Heights, Virginia, which is a small town south of Richmond. It was there that the left-hander attended Thomas Dale High School and made a name for himself as a speedy two-way player, as feared on the mound as he was at the plate and on the base paths. Cullen was a starter all four years at Thomas Dale, and twice helped his team take home the district title.
His success continued into his collegiate career at Virginia Commonwealth. At this point his role became clearly defined as that of a position player. Earning the starting center-field job as a Freshman and cementing his role at the top of the VCU lineup, Cullen has hit over .300 in both of his NCAA seasons.
It would be a hard sell to project that Cullen’s career in baseball will reach this level, but on this stage at least he looks to me like a guy with a Rickie Henderson or young Willy Mays type profile. The guy can flat-out run. I am hesitant to say how fast he got from the plate to first last time I got a stopwatch on him because I almost don’t believe it myself, but he has plus-plus speed and is possibly the fastest guy in the league. Standing all of 5’8″, 170 lbs you’d believe that; he’s a smaller, athletic guy, and you expect him to run. But hit for power? He’s leading the league with 8 homers so far in 108 at-bats. That’s some serious swat. I haven’t seen Cullen all that much this season but I’ll be looking for him next time, because it’s hard to believe a guy with serious speed and serious power isn’t going places.
As of writing, Cullen has a 10-game hitting streak going and has had multiple hits in six of those last ten games. He has raised his average to .333 and his OPS to 1.012. The Miners may be officially out of contention, but don’t tell Cullen that. He’s playing like he intends to be remembered when he leaves Alaska.
Other recent profiles: Blake Miller (Goldpanners) | JJ Turbin (Chinooks) | Zach Mathieu (Bucs) | Jeff Kremer (Pilots)
Jesse Jack is a life-long Alaskan (except for a stint in Montana) who studies Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage from August through May, and lives at the ballpark during June and July. 
