Valdes ready for one more year with Cavs

OMAHA, Neb. – By design, the cell phone was always arms length away.

Had a representative from a Major League Baseball team longed to talk to Franco Valdes prior to this week’s draft, Virginia’s junior catcher wanted to be available.

Valdes waited. And he waited some more. Nothing developed.

In fact, outside of a generic questionnaire from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Valdes was ignored completely by scouts from MLB.

It capped off a roller coaster 12-month period that tested Valdes in unimaginable ways.

Most are unaware that the Florida native with Cuban roots was suspended in the fall by coach Brian O’Connor after arriving late for practice.

“I was 10 minutes late,” Valdes explained. “It was enough for Oak.”

Valdes, who hit a homer in Virginia’s 9-5 loss to LSU in the opening day of the College World Series, had to regain the trust of his teammates.

“Some of them did not know what to think,” Valdes said. “I am a ‘whatever happens, happens’ kind of guy. I got suspended in the fall for a reason and that made me get my butt on the horse and continue to do other things.”

All the while, teammates wondered if Valdes would be back in 2010. An excellent defender, he was drafted in the 14th round out of high school by the Detroit Tigers.

“I came into this year saying, ‘if I do this well, I might get this much, and if I don’t, I have another year of school.’ But I don’t care about it that much,” Valdes said. “I love baseball and it is not that I don’t want to play pro baseball but it will come whenever it comes.”

Thoughts of Valdes landing a signing bonus worthy of leaving Virginia with a year of eligibility picked up steam during the ACC tournament and the Irvine Regional, which he landed MVP honors in.

“There were moments when ESPN couldn’t say three words without saying, ‘Franco Valdes,’” he joked. “I thought, ‘Oh, man, stuff might turn around a little bit.’”

That changed during a post-game meal in Oxford, Miss., with senior Andrew Carraway that Valdes prepared himself to go unselected in the draft.

“I remember going to eat dinner with ‘Ace’ at Ole Miss and he got six phone calls from teams,” Valdes said, “and I knew if they wanted me that they would call me now.”

It never happened. Only three draft-eligible juniors (Jeff Lorick, Matt Packer and Tyler Cannon) were selected in the 50-round draft.

“To be honest, I don’t care how the draft works,” Valdes said. “Since high school I have always thought of the draft as political mumbo jumbo that I hate getting involved with. I hate the draft.

“Whatever happens next year, if I get drafted or not, I don’t really care. I play baseball because I love to play baseball, not because I get paid or because my name is in The Daily Progress. I give three flying anythings about what is going on. As long as I am in the lineup I am fine.”

Valdes said it is easy to overcome low moments emotionally with visions of 2010.

“I have one more year in college baseball that I’m going to love,” he said. “I love playing with these guys and we are going to have a great team next year. We are going to have everybody back except Carraway and [Robert] Poutier.

“Sure, it is tough on draft day when you are not picked but I wasn’t going to go in the top three rounds. I am just glad that I have another season with a group that I love being around.”

Sucking it up

Following Virginia’s dogpile at the Oxford Super Regional, Poutier joked that the melee produced a black eye and a broken rib.

There was some truth to that. Poutier, a fifth-year senior, has a cracked rib.

That, however, will not keep him from pitching in the College World Series if summoned by the coaching staff.

In an elite group

With a solo homer on Saturday, Virginia rookie Steven Proscia made program history.

In addition to hitting the first home run at Rosenblatt Stadium by a Cavalier, the New Jersey native belted his 10th homer.

That was the most by a rookie at Virginia since Sean Doolittle registered 12 home runs in 2005.

Cannon also helped re-write the record books with a triple, giving Virginia 28 on the season. That bettered the mark of 27 hit by the Cavaliers in 1993.