Hawaii pitcher Dylan Thomas is averse to walks, having issued 20 bases on balls in 110 1⁄3 innings over 60 career appearances.

In character, Thomas is reluctant to walk in UH’s commencement ceremony on Saturday.

“I made an appointment to do something else,” said Thomas, who ordered a cap and gown for picture purposes after meeting the requirements to participate in the graduation service. “And my family’s not going to be out here (this weekend). I’ll probably not walk.”

Instead, Thomas will celebrate at the “graduation” ceremony during the Rainbow Warriors’ senior day festivities following the May 19 home finale against UC Santa Barbara. His parents will attend that weekend series.

Those games are expected to mark Thomas’ final appearance in a UH uniform at Les Murakami Stadium. The ’Bows close the regular season with road games against Long Beach State on May 24-26.

Last June, the Minnesota Twins drafted Thomas in the 38th round. After the Twins failed to meet his asking price, Thomas returned to UH as a fourth-year junior. Next month, Thomas is expected to be picked in the early rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft for First-Year Players. If all goes according to expectations, Thomas will embark on a professional career this summer.

UH coach Mike Trapasso said Thomas has fulfilled the promise envisioned as a Valencia (Calif.) High pitcher five years ago. At the time, the 6-foot-4 Thomas weighed about 175 pounds. In recruiting, Trapasso noted, the check list begins with arm action and body type. “You’re talking about a skinny kid with a good loose arm, a good pitcher’s body,” Trapasso said. “You knew there needed to be 20, 30 pounds put on. … But you knew it was all there.”

Thomas redshirted in 2016 to gain weight and strength. “I called him ‘Blade’,” Trapasso recalled. “Initially when I called him that, he said, ‘That’s pretty cool. Because I carve up hitters?’ I said, ‘No, you’re like a blade of grass. When you turn sideways, nobody can see you.’ ”

At the end of that summer, Thomas weighed 205, his current weight. With the help of Ventura Halos coaches Charles and Max Merricks, Thomas developed a slider that became his out pitch. Trapasso also corrected a delivery to allow the right-handed Thomas more flexibility with his plant leg. “It helped him immediately,” Trapasso said. In three UH seasons, Thomas has a 1.88 ERA with 27 saves and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.75-to-1.

Trapasso said the slider is “giving him a chance to, maybe, pitch in the big leagues someday. It’s a pitch that hitters struggle seeing the rotation. They know it’s coming. Every hitter knows it’s coming. They have trouble with it.”

Thomas said he has tried to teach his slider’s grip and mechanics to teammates, but the effect has been difficult to replicate. Maybe it is Thomas’ long fingers, maybe it is his flexible wrist that creates a snap. “I’m not really sure 100 percent what it is,” Thomas said.

Trapasso said: “Some guys just have that knack for it.”