By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial alumnus and former University of Houston pitcher Fred Villarreal Jr. made his pro debut with the Class A Everett Aquasox on Thursday night in Everett, Wash.
The Seattle Mariners’ 25th-round draft selection picked up right where he left off as one of the top collegiate closers in the country.
“For some reason it felt like I hadn’t stopped playing,” Villarreal Jr. said. “I hadn’t pitched since (the American Athletic Conference) tournament, which was (in late May). It feels like not one thing changed. I’m still playing the same exact game I’ve been playing since I was 12 years old. … The only thing that changes is the environment, and I just block all of that out anyway.”
He tossed a scoreless eighth inning in his first appearance with the organization. He allowed a single and a walk, and struck out one. Eleven of his 18 pitches were strikes.
Villarreal Jr. was on his way to a perfect inning when a fluky infield hit briefly put him in a jam.
“I got two quick outs, and then our infield was playing a pull-side shift,” Villarreal Jr. said. “Our second baseman was playing close to the shortstop, and I got a weak ground ball. If I knew our infield was playing that shift, I probably could have had that ball. It was a straight, slow ground ball to second, and it got counted as a hit.”
He came back to get a called third strike against Vancouver’s Cameron Eden to end the inning without surrendering a run. Villarreal Jr. said he learned from the experience to trust his coaches and not concern himself with things outside his control when he takes the mound.
While he leaned on his accumulated knowledge from hundreds of innings at the highest levels he could reach at younger ages, Villarreal Jr. stands by the disciplined process that has helped him elevate his game as he continues to mature.
Villarreal Jr. woke up at 6 a.m. Thursday and arrived at Everett’s Funko Field at noon, seven hours before first pitch. After a treatment session with the training staff and lunch, he attended a pitchers-only meeting and began playing catch five hours before gametime. The pitchers then join the rest of the squad in the outfield to shag fly balls during batting practice. Every hour is purposefully structured, a welcome atmosphere for a detailed planner like Villarreal Jr.
“It’s always a full schedule,” Villarreal Jr. said. “It’s the same thing every single day.”
Villarreal Jr. said he attributes his success to his regimented routine and ability to focus on the tasks directly in front of him.
“As we used to say in Houston, ‘Be where we are,’” Villarreal Jr. said. “As in, be in the present moment. Because I feel like where people lose themselves is when they look too far ahead and they have that view that’s so far away that they don’t know how to get there. How I achieved all of my success was taking it a day at a time, an hour at a time, because it all adds up.
“This is a job, which is crazy to say. At first I used to pay to play in all these tournaments, and now I get paid to play this game.”