United League Baseball completes first round of 2007 draft
Published on February 14, 2007 under United League Baseball (ULB) News Release
HARLINGEN, Texas - The first round of the United League Baseball 2007 draft is complete as the Alexandria Aces selected right-handed pitcher Brian Fulcher, the San Angelo Colts took shortstop Aaron Thor, and the Edinburg Coyotes drafted infielder Donnie Poles.
All six players selected in the first round of the inaugural draft were scouted and signed after their participation in the Texas Winter League, which will complete its regular season Thursday. The best-of-3 playoffs begin Friday at 7 p.m. at historic Harlingen Field.
Fulcher is a combined 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA in eight games (three starts) this winter. All his appearances, except the first, came for the Brownsville Toros who finished in first place and await their playoff opponent. The Toros are managed by Ricky VanAsselberg, who will also be Fulcher's manager in Alexandria.
"He's got a live arm," VanAsselberg said. "He's only been pitching for a year. He was a catcher in junior college and converted to pitcher. He's got a lot of potential."
Thor is batting .324 (11-for-34) with nine runs, a double, two RBIs and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts for the Harlingen WhiteWings this winter. Thor was an All American at Division III Aurora College in Illinois.
Poles is batting a combined .244 (20-for-82) this winter with 16 runs scored, four doubles, four triples, six RBIs, 11 walks, and is 14-for-15 in stolen base attempts. The versatile Poles played all four infield positions, catcher, the outfield, and experimented with switch hitting in the winter league.
Originally selected in the 18th round of the 2002 draft by the Kansas City Royals as a pitcher, Poles was injured pitching in the Gulf Coast League and surgery wiped out a couple years of his career. He played in the Northern League and Frontier League in 2005 as an infielder/outfielder, which he was at Pitt Community College, and batted a combined .271 in 27 games. Poles played last summer in Europe.
"It's a great opportunity to play baseball," Poles said. "I'm excited to play for (Edinburg manager) Vince (Moore). He's a good coach."
The second round of the draft is expected to be completed by the end of the ULB playoffs.
The United League is an independent professional baseball league that will begin its second season on Tuesday, May 8. Teams in the ULB are the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, the Laredo Broncos, the San Angelo Colts, the Edinburg Coyotes, the Amarillo Dillas, and the Alexandria (La) Aces. For more information, visit http://www.unitedleague.org/
2007 United League Baseball Draft
1. Ryan Kottke, C Rio Grande Valley
2. Josh Ashton, SS Amarillo
3. Brian Nichols, 1B Laredo
4. Brian Fulcher, RHP Alexandria
5. Aaron Thor, SS San Angelo
6. Donnie Poles, INF Edinburg
United League Baseball Stories from February 14, 2007
- Toros win ninth straight - ULB
- WhiteWings clinch playoff berth - ULB
- United League Baseball completes first round of 2007 draft - ULB
- Colts sign All-American Shortstop - San Angelo Colts
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