BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Things are almost back to normal at Ted Uhlaender field at McAllen High after an offseason renovation.
The infield shines as green as an emerald. The dirt is freshly raked and ready to form giant clouds as Bulldogs slide across home plate. A new turf ring is being brought in to surround the batter’s boxes.
Actual regular-season innings are on the way, and the precursor to that is the sight of McHi senior pitcher Abanny Garcia dominating on the mound.
“Abanny is Abanny,” the familiar refrain from coach Eliseo Pompa, echoes through the clubhouse on Saturday. Pompa took a break from handing out uniforms and organizing equipment to sit and reflect on the season that was and the year to come for his ace.
“Abanny is a hard worker. You tell him what to do, and he will do it,” Pompa said of the UTRGV commit. “He’s looked great on the mound. He’s thrown maybe about 10 innings. Of course, we have to limit the pitches they throw, but we are also kind of limiting the innings, right now. I want them to peak in the later part of district, so, hopefully, they can continue that into the playoffs. He’s in a whole different world when he can connect pitches. He just throws strikes, and we don’t worry too much about him.”
Garcia committed to UTRGV on July 15, following his junior season. During his junior campaign, Garcia pitched 35 1/3 innings, going 5-0. He had 60 strikeouts and just seven walks. He allowed nine runs all year, seven of them earned.
“My confidence is way up there,” Garcia said. “I just want to go out there and strike out everyone.”
The Bulldogs advanced to the Class 6A Region IV semifinals last year, picking up a District 30-6A title on the way.
Garcia is a middle-of-the-order hitter, too. Last year, he hit .439 with 15 runs and 17 RBIs.
“Abanny is good every year,” sophomore Aaron Nixon said. “He’s a freak of nature. He just spots the ball up, and he pitches like a real pitcher.”
Garcia will be back on the mound as the ace and back at first on the days he’s not pitching.
That constant is a positive for a program that has had a lot of change this offseason. The Bulldogs graduated 13 players from last year’s varsity roster.
Luckily, as Nixon put it, McHi isn’t “rebuilding.” It has already “reloaded.”
Nixon is the first moving piece. Last year, he served as a “super closer,” often coming in and pitching multiple innings to secure a Bulldogs win.
“We are looking at him starting a little more this year,” Pompa said. “We are starting off by limiting his work, since he was in football and they do a lot of throwing. So, I keep a track on what they do at practice, so he won’t be too tired.”
Nixon’s workload may expand later in the season. Right now, his main focus is nailing down his defensive position change.
Nixon moved from third base to shortstop following the graduation of last year’s shortstops.
Nixon said the move feels more natural because he has been playing short most of his life.
Robbie Maldonado is also going through multiple changes. The senior will be pitching and playing center field. He rarely pitched after the tournament season last year, and he mostly played at the corner outfield spots.
“In center, you just have to cover more ground,” Maldonado said. “I have been playing in center most of my life, as well, so it should be fun to get out there this year.”
Meanwhile, he may be moving up to the No. 2 spot in the rotation, which means he will have to vary his pitch sequences more and go deeper into games this year.
Maldonado spent the year working on his off-speed pitches, specifically getting better with the command and control of his slider and curveball.
He said he is learning from the best, practicing every day with Nixon and Garcia, as well as Pompa’s quality staff.
“He has looked really good on the mound this year,” Pompa said of Maldonado. “He is throwing strikes. He has developed a good slider, and he has developed a very good move to first. He picked a couple guys off at first during scrimmages.”
With so much talent moving around, Pompa said his best asset is a group of players who can play a variety of positions and take the pressure off of some of those moving pieces.
“It is very interesting to have kids that are multitalented,” Pompa said.
Leading that group is freshman Chris Bernal, who committed to the University of Pittsburgh on July 4, just after his eighth-grade year.
“Our catcher, Nate (Quintanilla), is one of our better pitchers, too,” Pompa said. “So when Nate pitches, Chris is probably going to catch. Chris can play third, he can play second, and he can play the outfield. Also, he can pitch. This is what I’m talking about. Some of our kids play so many different positions, and they play them well. He’s one of those kids who can do that.”
He is already showing what he can do at the varsity level.
“He had a great scrimmage last night,” Nixon said. “He went 2 for 3 with a double off the wall. He’s just gotta relax. You can’t tense up. Last year, in the beginning of the season, some of us tensed up. When we became ourselves, we just started hitting, and it all came together.”
Junior Gibby Mata is another player in the same mold. As a sophomore last year, he was often a defensive replacement at whatever position was needed.
“Gibby was great as a utility player for us last year,” Garcia said. “We really think he can step up on offense, too, this year.”
He has also taken some steps forward as a pitcher, Pompa said, and could sneak into the rotation.
In the end, though, everything comes back to Abanny Garcia. He will be looking to dominate as he has throughout his career — all the way back to his McAllen Rowe days, when he was named The Monitor’s All-Valley Newcomer of the Year in 2015.
“Abanny is a beast,” Maldonado said. “He’s just doing his thing and staying within himself. Knowing we have him, it makes everything easier.”
RGVSports.com Top Ten
1. McAllen High
2. PSJA High
3. Edinburg Vela
4. Los Fresnos
5. Brownsville Veterans
6. Valley View
7. Edcouch-Elsa
8. Rio Grande City
9. Sharyland Pioneer
10. Weslaco High
Five other players to watch
Cheke Marroquin, Jr., pitcher/outfielder, PSJA High: Marroquin pitched 54 innings, going 6-1 with a 1.04 ERA last season. With the graduation of Marc Castillo, Marroquin slots in as the Bears’ ace.
Aaron Galvan, Sr., pitcher/center fielder, Edinburg Vela: the UTRGV commit gets it done on both sides of the plate. He struck out 29 in 25 2/3 innings last year, and he hit .461 with 26 RBIs and 13 doubles.
Joseph Gonzalez, Sr., pitcher, Edcouch-Elsa: as a four-year starter, Gonzalez’s poise on the mound was a big factor in getting the Yellow Jackets to the playoffs last year. His play this year could get them back there.
Ricardo Sanchez, Sr., shortstop, Valley View: Sanchez may be the best middle infielder in the Valley. He was well on his way last year, and his consistency at the plate doesn’t hurt.
Jonathan Martinez, Soph., third base/ pitcher, La Joya High: Martinez rose to prominence as a freshman, raking from the fifth spot in the lineup and becoming the ace of the staff. He was awarded with the District 30-6A Newcomer of the Year award. Look for him to be even better as he continues to develop his secondary pitches to complement his nasty fastball.