As a relief pitcher, University of Hawaii alumnus Dylan Thomas has learned to be prepared for duty.

Thomas is one of thousands of minor league baseball players trying to keep fit during the hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s definitely been interesting,” said Thomas, who has been staying at his family’s home in Valencia, Calif., the past two weeks. “But I know I’m not the only person in this boat. I know we’re all picking and chewing and trying to stay in shape and being ready for the soonest start date.”

Whether that happens in a couple of months or even at all, Thomas is keeping fit with social-distance exercises and throwing. “I’ve been doing home workouts,” Thomas said.

Thomas also will be helped by Major League Baseball’s decision to pay each minor league player $400 per week through at least May 31 or until the start of the affiliate season.

“That was awesome,” Thomas said of the decision. “For the time being, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get paid or not. It was definitely a stress factor trying to think what I was going to do to make some extra cash while this whole ordeal was going on.”

After a four-year, three-season career with the Rainbow Warriors, Thomas was the Minnesota Twins’ 13th-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft for first-year players.

Thomas was initially assigned to Elizabethton (Tenn.) of the Appalachian League. “I loved Elizabethton,” Thomas said of the 13,700-resident town. “I’ve never been to a small-town scenario like that. It was pretty interesting, pretty fun. I had good teammates and the competition was awesome.”

After going 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA and four saves in 11 games, Thomas was promoted to the Twins’ low-A affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Unlike at Elizabethton, where $20 a day was deducted for rent and expenses, Thomas lived rent-free with a host family in Cedar Rapids.

“They were awesome people,” Thomas said.

Thomas went 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA at Cedar Rapids. For the year, his combined average was 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings, including 11.8 at Elizabethton.

Thomas said he reported to the Twins’ training facility in January. “They had an early six-week velocity camp that I was part of,” Thomas said.

In March, Thomas pitched two innings in a simulated game. “A couple hours later, we had a meeting, and they told us to take the next day off while they figured things out,” Thomas recalled. “And the next day, they had another meeting, and they told us we were going home.”

Thomas said he was not told of this year’s team assignment, although he assumes it will be to return to Cedar Rapids. For now, Thomas waits. “I’ve been chilling in California,” he said.