It’ll be all arms on deck for the UH-Hilo baseball team, which will get its pitching depth tested with a six-game series against Hawaii Pacific at Les Murakami Stadium.
All 14 pitchers on the roster will be making the trip over, and even the hitters who used to throw in high school like Casey Yamauchi and Kobie Russell, may get mound time if the score goes sideways in the PacWest Hawaii pod marathon.
The Vulcans (4-4, 4-1, PacWest) and Sharks (1-8, 1-4) start the series at 4 p.m. Friday, picking up from last week’s rained out game with HPU ahead 6-1 in the second inning.
Junior right-hander Christian Sadler (0-0, 1 2/3 innings) will continue in that game, followed by junior left-hander Kyle Alcorn (2-1, 1.15 ERA), junior left-hander Cameron Scudder (0-1, 2.61), freshman right-hander Aaron Davies (0-0, three innings), freshman right-hander Christian DeJesus (0-1, 4.91) and a bullpen-by-committee in the last game.
The bullpen has a set order with middle relief pitchers Cody Hirata (0-1, three innings), a Waiakea graduate, and junior right-hander Takashi Umino (0-0, 5.61), setup man Brandyn Lee-Lehano (0-0, 3.21), and closer John Kea (1-0, three innings).
Junior right-hander Jonathan Buhl, who’s allowed eight runs in four innings –not counting the runs he gave up in two-thirds inning in the suspended game – will move to the bullpen after changing his arm slot from over-the-top to three-quarters.
Coach Kallen Miyataki is just happy to be playing ball, especially at Les Murakami Stadium, which is a real treat especially for the local players who grew up watching games on TV.
Of course, there’s always a bit of concern if a starter gets tapped out early and the bullpen getting extended.
“We’ll see. If we do the right things, throw strikes and take care of business, we’ll be in a good position,” he said. “But anything can happen. If our starters go five innings, we’ll be fine. I’m confident with the back end of our pitching, Hirata, Umino, Lee-Lehano and Kea.”
Against HPU, the Vulcans are hitting .251 and have a 4.45 ERA, compared to the Sharks’ hitting and pitching stats, .214 and 8.61, respectively.
The Vuls have run at will against the HPU catchers. They’re 12 of 14 in steal attempts. The Sharks have been nearly as successful getting runners into scoring position. They’re 11 of 14 in steal attempts.
Hopefully, southpaws Alcorn and Scudder can check HPU’s running game. Scudder, who had a balk against UH-Manoa, has a lethal pickoff move. It’s reminiscent of Steve Carlton’s – it looks like he’s going to home plate but fires to first.
Carlton is the MLB career leader in pickoffs and balks. Scudder just has to disguise his best move a little better. But that’s only a small part of what Miyataki likes about the 6-foot-4, 205-pound pitcher from Arizona.
“He’s still learning a lot. He’s got a great body and arm,” he said. “It’s about learning how to pitch, learning about himself, learning to adjust. There’s been growth and that’s what we’re here for. We’re blessed to have the opportunity to work with a guy like that.”
Miyataki sees similar potential in Davies, a 6-2, 160-pound diamond in the rough from Palos Verdes, Calif., who didn’t allow a run in his final three appearances against title contenders Biola and Azusa Pacific in 2020.
“He’ll grow. He’s got a good curveball and a sneaky fastball,” he said. “He’ll compete and come right at you. I love his attitude and courage on the mound. He’s not really consistent but has shown flashes that he can be dominating once he gets things going.”
Miyataki has a constant chicken vs. the egg dilemma as far as developing his pitchers, taking a guy who has a touch of velocity but a lack of how to pitch vs. someone who knows how to pitch but lacks velocity.
“A guy like Hirata, we’ve had a lot of discussions about pitchability,” he said. “It’s understanding strengths and weaknesses. In time, we can deal with velocity. It’s about understanding why and when we throw certain pitches. The key is convincing the youngsters. That’s the challenge.
“They read about the pros in the media. But the ones who can do all that are the ones playing in MLB.”
Miyataki has seen firsthand how MLB is a really cold business when one of his former pitchers, Jordan Kurokawa, was released after one rookie ball season with the Philadelphia Phillies. He went 1-3 with a 4.19 ERA and has since pitched in independent ball.
MLB general managers tend to look at players as stock chips. There are so many doors to player acquisition, though the MLB draft, Rule 5 draft, international draft, free agency, trades, and independent pickups, a last-in-line rarity.
It’s far easier for a GM to sign a foreign player for $5,000, put him on a nutrition and weight training program, and assign him to a minor league roster spot to develop. Players, especially college ones in their age 23 season, who don’t put up big numbers even in their first year are strong candidates to be released.
It’s also an annual weeding out process to make minor league roster spots available for the next wave of prospects. It’s a tough way to make a living fighting for a job every year.
To make matters more complicated, the NCAA’s class standing status quo during the coronavirus pandemic has flooded colleges with extra-year juniors and seniors. Even the three-year sophomores will be draft-eligible.
The 2021 MLB draft will have 20 rounds, up from last year’s five-round draft. The normal draft is 40 rounds.
“That’s why we stress education so much,” Miyataki said. “Anytime you graduate from college you’re a winner. You’ve seen it in the past. It’s really hard to make it, and the reality is the MLB average is a 94 mph fastball.
“When most people go to work, they find it’s a lot different than the classroom. They have to adjust, and that’s what we’re always talking about with life lessons. You have to learn about yourself, and that’s what we’re doing here.”
No fans will be allowed at Les Murakami Stadium, but hpusharks.com will video stream the games.