DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Before the Edinburg High Bobcats had laced up a cleat or swung a bat this preseason, coach Robert Valdez had a message for them.
“We’re not last year’s team,” Valdez said. “Each and every year, you have to find your own identity as a team.”
It can be a difficult message to adhere to, particularly for kids. The Bobcats had a historic season in 2015, reaching the Class 6A regional semifinals for the first time since 1959.
Now Edinburg High is a target. Everyone knows about the Bobcats, and star ace and Texas Tech commit John Henry Gonzalez. The Bobcats aren’t sneaking up on anyone this season, and they are aware of it.
True, they are not last year’s team. But last year’s team is all anyone remembers before the start of a season.
“Not every team does what we did,” said senior infielder/pitcher Robert Valdez Jr., the coach’s son. “Our target is a whole lot bigger. The reigning district champs, we have to defend what we did. We can’t take anyone lightly because we know they’re coming for us.”
OPPORTUNITY CALLS
As the season starts this week, the Bobcats lack depth in the rotation and experience in the infield. Hitting is a strength; two of the team’s top four hitters return in Matt Trevino (.374, 26 RBIs) and Gonzalez (.320, 22 RBIs).
Defense is a work in progress, but there is a strong anchor in Gonzalez, who went 9-1 with an 0.11 ERA and 110 strikeouts to 30 walks last season. The right-hander assures he’ll be even better. Gonzalez worked on conditioning during the offseason, to last through games longer, and hitting spots because he struggled with high counts toward the end of the season.
All eyes will be on the 2015 All-Valley Pitcher of the Year. He’s ready for it.
“It’s the best feeling,” Gonzalez said. “Coming into every game and people are watching like, ‘This is the guy. This is him.’ It fires me up to shut teams down. It pushes me to perform better.”
Gonzalez suffered an ankle sprain on the second day of practice last month, but is expected to be cleared today. The Bobcats will be diligent about working him back into the swing of things, and Valdez knows he will be depending more on pitchers Jaime Cansino, Trevino, Troy Galaviz and his son.
Valdez said Gonzalez is already a “leader by action.” Now he’s learning to be a “leader by voice.”
“It’s really his leadership role to run with,” the eighth-year coach said. “I think the biggest thing he’s trying to get across to the guys is we’re going to go as we pitch. We have arms, but they’re not pitching where they need to be.
“But he’s taking those guys under his wing, and now he’s almost like an extra coach.”
Cansino went 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in three appearances last season. He was not used a lot because the Bobcats had seniors Jaime Alvarado, Luis Ortega and Michael Castillo as veterans behind Gonzalez. But now they’re gone, and Cansino is the only pitcher on this year’s roster who threw at all last year.
“Bigger opportunities are going to come for us,” Trevino said. “We’re ready for it.”
WHO’S ‘THE MAN?’
Valdez said the team’s hitters have “capability.” The meat of the lineup will truly be the meat of the lineup, he said. And the execution of the offense has pleased players early.
“We have a lot of bats coming up, and one-through-nine in the order can hit,” said senior infielder Daniel Solis, who hit .356 with 13 RBIs and a .437 on-base percentage last year. “We can hit opposite field, we can bunt, we’ve got power. Whatever coach calls for, we can do it.”
Valdez Jr.’s return makes the offense tougher. He missed all of last season with hip and knee injuries, but has swung the bat well and adds power. He’s also a capable pitcher.
As his father mixes and matches position players, Valdez Jr. is slated as the team’s designated hitter for the time being.
“This team, it’s different,” Valdez Jr. said. “Last year’s chemistry, our bonding and accountability were stronger. This year, we have some younger kids and the seniors are doing a lot of teaching. We have to build from there.”
That’s what the coach wants to hear. He knows his team is a marked one. But he also knows the game “can take you from the penthouse to the outhouse in one inning, one pitch,” and he needs his team to understand that.
The pieces are there for the Bobcats. It’s about putting them all together.
“We have to slow things down. We have to re-teach,” Valdez said. “The big thing is you sit back and reflect what you had, guys like (Castillo), a four-year starter. That’s 700 innings. Jaime Alvarado, Luis Ortega and Ryan Amador — three three-year starters, 500-plus innings each. You’re looking at all that experience, and now another athlete steps in with no experience because of what those guys were able to do. They were ‘the man,’ and now we’ve got to find other guys who are ‘the man.’
“That’s the hardest thing for us right now.”
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Top five players to watch in the Upper and mid-Valley this season.
John Henry Gonzalez, Edinburg High, sr.: The future Texas Tech Red Raider was dominant last season with a 9-1 record and 0.11 ERA. Gonzalez has a fastball that reaches the low 90s and he said his location has improved despite issuing just 30 walks last year.
Noel Vela, Mission Veterans Memorial, jr.: The fire-throwing lefty went 11-2 last season with a 1.60 ERA and 141 strikeouts to 46 walks in 83.1 innings. The 141 strikeouts led Class 5A.
Abanny Garcia, McAllen Rowe, soph.: As a freshman last year, Garcia hit .457 with a .530 on-base percentage and a .527 slugging percentage. He also can pitch. He went 6-1 in 2015 with a 1.49 ERA and 44 strikeouts to 11 walks.
Leo Perez, La Joya Palmview, jr.: The 6-foot-1 right-hander went 7-1 with a 0.92 ERA in 10 appearances last season. He had four complete games and four shutouts, and allowed seven earned runs in 53 innings.
Mike Alvarez, Hidalgo, sr.: One of the best hitters in South Texas, Alvarez will anchor the lineup for No. 11-state ranked Hidalgo. Alvarez hit .562 with a .588 on-base percentage last season. He had a .608 slugging percentage.
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RGVSports.com Preseason Top 10
1. Brownsville Veterans Memorial
2. Edinburg High
3. Mission Veterans Memorial
4. La Joya Palmview
5. Hidalgo
6. Edinburg North
7. Weslaco High
8. La Joya High
9. PSJA High
10. McAllen High