Dylan Thomas is UH’s super saver

With three ailing pitchers unavailable for this weekend’s series against Cal Poly, the Hawaii baseball team is having an open casting call for starters.

On Wednesday, UH coach Mike Trapasso confirmed that Neil Uskali, Dominic DeMiero and Logan Pouelsen will not pitch this weekend. They have combined to start 24 of the Rainbow Warriors’ 39 games.

“We’ve got 12 guys who are available,” said Trapasso, noting that closer Dylan Thomas has not been definitely excluded from the list of candidates.

“Dylan can even start,” Trapasso said. “He won’t, but, hey, you never know. It’s scramble time.”

Thomas’ role as a closer is as sure a thing as Manoa rain. Thomas, a third-year sophomore, is tied for ninth nationally with 11 saves.

“Dylan turns every game you can get a lead into a seven-inning game,” Trapasso said. “You can go to him in the eighth.”

Sunday against CSUN, Thomas was summoned in the seventh. His three-inning, 57-pitch outing was the longest of his collegiate career.

“I know our guys went down, and we’re going to need a little bit extra out of the back end in support of whoever gets those starts,” Thomas said. “I’m prepared to go out there and throw as much as I need to help us win.”

Thomas has been effective (1.29 earned-run average) and efficient (12.7 pitches per inning). His walk against CSUN was the first one he issued in 28 innings this season.

“I was able to go as long as I did,” said Thomas, who averages 0.32 walks per nine innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 33-to-1. “My goal is not to let it happen again.”

Thomas’ out pitch is a slider that can pinpoint both sides of the strike zone. “I can throw it for strikes in almost any count,” Thomas said. “That makes it a really good pitch for me.”

Thomas did not develop the slider until the summer following his redshirt year in 2016. Charles Merricks, a summer-league coach, taught Thomas how to throw a slider with a rotating two-seam grip. Thomas worked on the slider during UH’s 2016 fall practices.

“It really clicked for me during the (2017) season,” said Thomas, who was perfect in nine save situations. “It never really went away.”

There are two factors that give Thomas’ slider extra oomph. At 6 feet 4, with a full-bodied motion, Thomas’ release point is several feet from the rubber. He also finishes with a spike motion.

“When I get on top of the ball and really pull it down, it has that really tight break that guys struggle to hit,” Thomas said.

He also has tinkered with a change-up that he throws during bullpen sessions.

“In the future, if I have to extend a few more innings, I’ll be probably be seeing more fastballs and, possibly, change-ups,” Thomas said.