Harlingen South's Danny Gidora Leads List of Eight Players Drafted by WhiteWings from Texas Winter L

Published on March 3, 2013 under United League Baseball (ULB)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


The United League's Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings are pleased to announce eight players have been drafted to their team from the Texas Winter League for 2013.

Of most local interest is right-handed pitcher Danny Gidora, who led the Harlingen South Hawks to the UIL Class 5A state championship game in 2007, winning the state semifinal.

Gidora, 24, also pitched at Texas-Brownsville/Southmost, posting an outstanding season in 2011 when he went 12-3 with a 2.23 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance.

In the Texas Winter League, Gidora was 2-0 with an 2.67 ERA (2.07 if adjusted to seven inning games) and an outstanding 20-3 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. He allowed 28 hits in 27 innings.

Other players selected by the WhiteWings include:

Dave Angle, the nephew of Kurt Angle, who won a gold medal as a wrestler in the 1996 Olympics. Dave Angle, will turn 24 this season. He was a perennial .300 hitting catcher with pop in his right-handed bat at NAIA powerhouse Point Park University who hit .268 with one home run in the TWL.

Albert Carpen, the second-leading hitter in NCAA Division I baseball in 2012 with a .426 average for Chicago State. Carpen, a 24-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, continued this hot hitting in the TWL with a .433 average and one home run and 13 RBIs in 20 games.

Hiroki Itakura, who led the TWL with a .463 average. A 22-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, Itakura received interest from the Arizona Diamondbacks during the Winter League season.

Justin Juneau, a 6-5, 215-pound left-handed first baseman.

Juneau, 25, hit .254 with 12 RBIs in the TWL and played collegiately at Texas-Tyler.

Bunyu Maeda (pronounced Boone My-da), a 6-1, 210-pound infielder. Maeda, who will turn 24 this month, was 3 for 14 in the TWL.

Keigo Miyagi, a 32-year-old left-handed hitting infielder.

Miyagi hit .313 in the TWL and will serve as an interpreter for Japanese players.

Thomas Schull, a switch-hitting infielder who will turn 24 this season. Schull hit .362 with one home run and 12 RBIs and even pitched a scoreless inning in the TWL. In 2012, the Linden, California native hit .342 with two homers and 25 RBIs in 29 games for the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League in 2012.

Additionally, the WhiteWings will invite two other players to camp. Submarine right-hander David Kloppe and right-handed pitcher Hiroki Kono will be given a chance to earn a spot with the WhiteWings. Kloppe played collegiately at Manhattan Christian College, where he once threw a no-hitter against Dordt College. He appeared in three games during the TWL season, all in relief.

Kono, a 26-year-old right-handed pitcher, was 2-1 with a 3.37 ERA in 21 1/3 innings in the TWL.

The drafted players are assured of being on the WhiteWings' roster for 14 games.

Sponsorships and season tickets for the 2013 United League WhiteWings season are available now! Season tickets are on sale for just $280, with approximately 48 games lasting from May through September. Please call 956-423-WING for more information!

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United League Baseball Stories from March 3, 2013


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