With the 2019 baseball season in the proverbial books, Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso is focusing on his 2020 vision.
A day after Saturday’s clunky season finale — the Rainbow Warriors ended 20-30 overall and 8-16 in the Big West — Trapasso was on the road for a week of recruiting to patch pukas on next year’s depth chart.
Trapasso is hopeful of avoiding the circumstances in which five pitchers and six position players missed games this past season. The injuries led to an infield rearrangement and outfield renovation. There were games when seven players were at unfamiliar positions. Eleven first-year ’Bows, including eight true freshmen, played this season.
“The guys gave everything they could from Day 1 to Day 50,” Trapasso said of the 50-game season. “This group’s been around more adversity than any I’ve been around in 31 years of coaching. They did the best they could. At the end, they were beat up but not beat down. I thanked the kids for giving the best they could.”
The odds of this becoming an uneven season began in fall training. Second baseman Dustin Demeter and left-handed reliever Kyle Hatton suffered season-ending injuries.
Dylan Thomas was scratched from making the season-opening first pitch because of a blister on his pitching hand.
In the season’s third series, center fielder Adam Fogel and catcher/infielder Dallas Duarte suffered injuries. Fogel underwent surgery for a season-ending shoulder injury; Duarte’s ankle injury troubled him the rest of the season. Duarte’s plans to play summer ball on the East Coast were canceled to allow the ankle to fully heal.
In the final month, senior shortstop Maaki Yamazaki could not make deep throws without pain in his right shoulder. This season, Tyler Best (right field), Brennen Hancock (left field), Ethan Lopez (shortstop), Daylen Calicdan (left field) and Duarte (third base) were used at positions they had not played previously.
The ’Bows are bracing for next week’s Major League Baseball Draft for First-Year Players. Relief pitcher Thomas, who was a junior this year, and first baseman Alex Baeza, a third-year sophomore, are draft eligible. Thomas turned down last year’s offer from the Minnesota Twins, who picked him in the 38th round. But Thomas projects as a top-300 prospect, which would put him in the 10-round range of the 40-round draft. He is expected to be a pro player this summer. Baeza is expected to return to UH for his junior season. He is a year away from becoming the first member of his family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
The three pitchers UH signed in November could draw draft interest. On Saturday, Dakota Engleman-Donovan struck out 15 and walked none in the Junior College World Series.
Whether the ’Bows lose players to the MLB, Trapasso still is seeking to add junior-college pitchers to the 2020 class. The order of preference is “pitchability” and high velocity. Trapasso noted high-velocity pitchers are “few and far between” because they often are scooped by MLB teams “out of high school and junior colleges before they even get to (a four-year) college.”
The ’Bows finished the year with three established starting pitchers. Cade Smith will pitch in Canada this summer. Aaron Davenport, a freshman, will pitch in the prestigious Cape Cod League. Logan Pouelsen, who can play both corner infield spots, projects as a starting pitcher and designated hitter next year. Trapasso said he expects pitchers Carter Lowen, Li‘i Pontes, and Calvin Turchin to benefit from summer ball.
Jeremy Wu-Yelland, a left-hander whose fastball touched 96 mph this season, is expected to make the full-time move to reliever. Wu-Yelland also is pitching in the Cape Cod League this summer.
Fogel and Demeter are expected to be ready for the 2020 season. Both took online classes while rehabbing in California during the spring semester.
“The most important thing is (Fogel) is healthy enough, come spring, to swing the bat,” Trapasso said. “The throwing is the last thing that comes, obviously. As long as he’s 100 percent to swing the bat, he gives you a presence in the lineup that a lot of teams don’t have.”
Demeter, who underwent surgeries on both hips, has been able to take batting cuts. “He said this is the best he’s felt since his sophomore year of high school,” Trapasso said. “That’s good news. Hopefully, the rehab will continue without any hiccups. … Getting those injured guys back, I don’t think you can overstate how big that is to our club.”
Three of the ’Bows’ top four hitters will return, including Baeza. “We’re excited about Baeza,” Trapasso said. “Another 15 pounds on him, he can be right there with the Fogels and Demeters.”
Matt Campos, who redshirted after transferring from San Francisco, is expected to contribute as a catcher or infielder. Campos is a 2016 ‘Iolani School graduate.
“He’s such a good teammate,” Trapasso said of Campos. “He’ll give us something from a leadership standpoint.”
