Former Calhoun High star Charlie Culberson recently begun his fifth full season of minor league baseball.

This year, however, he's just one step away from the ultimate goal, playing Major League Baseball.

Culberson, the 51st pick in the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants, was assigned out of spring training to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League.

In the season-opening series against the Tucson Padres, Culberson went 5-for-15 with a double and three RBIs to help the Grizzlies win three out of four games.

The solid start to the season comes on the heels of tough spring in which Culberson overcame an unlucky injury during the first week of camp.

Soon after reporting to spring training in mid-February, Culberson dropped a weight on his finger during a workout and broke a bone in the finger causing him to miss the first few weeks in Arizona.

The injury was not the start that Culberson wanted after getting great news in the offseason. In November, Culberson was added to the Giants' 40-man roster after enjoying a solid 2011 campaign.

Last summer, Culberson batted .259 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs while being named a mid-season All-Star in the Eastern League.

Culberson graduated from Calhoun in 2007 where he was named to the Rome News-Tribune All-Area Team multiple times.

He was a big part of Calhoun's 2005 state championship along with pitchers Josh Smoker and Brodie Pullen where they defeated Westside-Augusta in the finals in two games.