Their year may have been cut short, but several Rio Grande Valley high school baseball products had no problem making a name for themselves during the first half of the season.
The top levels of Texas High School Baseball’s Top 100 Stats list, which compiles stat leaders from across the state for each classification and private school, is scattered with Upper-Valley RGV players who were performing well on the diamond this year.
CLASS 6A
The McAllen High Bulldogs boasted one of the strongest lineups from top to bottom in the RGV, and the top 100 stats list in 6A reflected that.
At the plate, McHi’s Aaron Nixon ranked No. 1 in 6A with 24 hits, 56th in batting average at .480, 13th in runs scored with 18, 93rd in RBIs with 12. On the mound, Nixon tied for third in 6A with three wins, third in strikeouts with 39 Ks, and 25th in ERA at 0.33. Bulldogs Hector Garcia and Elijah West both tied for 24th in 6A with two home runs apiece, while Jacob Vela tied for 64th with 13 RBIs.
Juniors Chris Bernal and Tristan Cavazos also were ranked top 100 in multiple stat categories. Bernal finished seventh in runs as he crossed the plate 19 times, 11th with 22 hits, 41st in batting average at .489,
Cavazos was tied for first with a 0.00 ERA, tied for third at three wins, 17th in hits with 21, 24th in runs scored with 17, tied for 74th in strikeouts with 20, 76th in batting average at .457, and 93rd in RBIs with 12.
The La Joya High Coyotes, another District 30-6A program on the rise, also landed a number of players in the top 100. LJ sophomore Guti Gutierrez ranked 19th in RBIs at 16, 23rd with 20 hits, 43rd in batting average at .488. Fellow Coyotes player Alan Delgado was 34th in runs scored with 16, pitcher JC Gutierrez ranked 52nd in 6A with 22 strikeouts and 94th in ERA at 1.00, Hugo Cantu tied for third in wins with three and 96th with 19 Ks, and Angel Solis was fourth in strikeouts with 36 and tied for third in wins at three.
The Weslaco High Panthers, who were off to a hot start to 2020, were also well represented. Devin Hanks was 23rd with a 0.32 ERA, tied for third with three wins, and Matt Soto ranked 21st in strikeouts with 27. Three Panthers made the top 100 in hits led by Jaden Cavazos at 10 (22 hits), and Jacob Cavazos and Angel Castellanos at 38th (18 hits).
Jaden Cavazos also ranked 13 in runs with 18, while Jacob Cavazos ranked fourth in runs with 20, 69th in stolen bases with 8, and tied for 93rd in RBIs with Castellanos at 12 runs batted in.
Four Edinburg Vela SaberCats also made the top 100 ranks led by Jaime Perez Jr., who ranked 23rd in 6A with 20 hits, 42nd with a .488 batting average, and 64th with 13 RBIs. Pitchers AJ Sotelo came in at 26th with 25 strikeouts, RJ Amaya ranked 74th with 20 strikeouts and tied for third with three wins, while Isaac Lopez ranked 50th with nine stolen bases.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Jair Contreras ranks 2nd in the state with four wins, while Edwin Contreras ranked among the top batting averages in the state at .595.
The PSJA High Bears’ Austin Flores tied for No. 1 in ERA with a 0.00 mark, and senior Jacob Sanchez ranked 48th with a 0.55 ERA. Justin Morales also tied for 90th in runs scored with 13.
Two Edinburg North Cougars made the list as Jacob Alvarado’s 12 RBIs ranked 93rd in 6A, and Gilbert Hinojosa’s eight stolen bases ranked 69th.
CLASS 5A
Both the Sharyland High Rattlers and Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks picked up right where they left off last season and were ranked amongst the top 5A teams in the state.
Sharyland High’s Martin Vazquez ranked first in 5A with 24 RBIs, fifth with four home runs, 13th with 23 hits, 15th with a .524 batting average and 35th with 17 runs scored. Senior Abraham Alvarez ranked fourth with 25 hits, 19th in batting average at .521, and 52nd with 13 RBIs. Jose Garcia was ninth in runs scored at 19 and 61st with 17 hits, Diego Peña ranked 35th with 14 RBIs, and Jose Acosta stole nine bases, coming in at No. 47. Sharyland pitchers Carlos Garcia ranked 46th in strikeouts with 23, and teammate Kike Cienfuegos came in at 83rd with 19 Ks.
Meanwhile, Sharyland Pioneer’s Evan Maldonado ranked 22nd in 5A with 20 hits, fourth in runs at 20, eighth in RBIs with 18, tied for sixth with three home runs, 29th in stolen bases with 11 and 46th in strikeouts with 46. Pitchers Abel Anzaldua tied for third in wins with three and was 29th in strikeouts with 27, Angel Larranaga ranked 43rd with 18 hits, 52nd with 13 RBIs, 83rd in strikeouts with 19, and David Lopez was 48th in ERA at 0.60 and tied for 83rd with 19 strikeouts. Sophomore Juan Rivera also ranked sixth in 5A with 17 stolen bases.
PSJA Southwest flashed improvement all over the diamond as several Javelinas ranked in the top 100. In the batting average category alone, Diego Duque came in at 52 (.471 batting average), Emilio Duque landed at 76, (.452 batting average), and Max Sanchez ranked 86th. Diego Duque also ranked 92nd in hits at 16, third in stolen bases with 18, while Emilio Duque ranked fifth in strikeouts with 37 and tied for third in wins with three. Sanchez was also first in 5A with 22 steals, 92nd in hits with 16, and 89th with 13 runs scored.
Mission Veterans’ Angel Cienfuegos was red hot at the plate, hitting .667, second in 5A, tied for first in hits with 26, 22nd in runs scored at 17, and 76th in stolen bases at eight.
La Joya Palmview senior ace Jon Martinez ranked 14th with 30 Ks and 24th in batting average at .500, while teammates Robby Ayala (.455 batting average) and Anakin Robles (.444 batting average) ranked 69th and 86th, respectively. Ezie Puente was 44th in ERA at 0.57, and Paulo Landeros tied for third in wins with three.
Edcouch-Elsa’s Mikey Davila was 73rd in 5A with eight steals, while teammate Manny Silva had an ERA of 1.17, coming in at No. 94.
Rio Grande City’s Eden Barrera landed at 57 in batting average at .467, Hugo Garcia tied for the top ranking in ERA with a clean 0.00, and Mercedes senior pitcher Pepe Vasquez ranked 43rd with a 0.54 ERA.