University of Hawaii pitcher Kyle Hatton will miss the 2019 season while recovering from a shoulder injury, coach Mike Trapasso confirmed on Tuesday.
Hatton, a versatile left-hander, underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder.
“He’ll be out for the year,” Trapasso said. “We’ll miss him. He’s a quality lefty out of the bullpen. His numbers out of the bullpen against lefties were very good. We had to use him a little more out of that role the last month of the (2018) season when we had all those injuries. He’s a guy we’ll miss. We don’t have a ton of depth on the left side.”
In 16 games last season, Hatton was 3-2 with a 4.10 earned-run average. He held left-swinging hitters to a .244 average.
As a UC Santa Barbara freshman in 2016, he pitched in 12 games, going 3-1 in helping the Gauchos reach the College World Series.
The next year, he pitched in one game for Riverside City College before transferring to UH.
“From a team standpoint, he’s a remarkable player,” Trapasso said. “He’s a coach on the field. He eventually wants to be a coach. He’ll be a great coach. We look forward to having him back (next season).”
Trapasso also expressed concern about catcher Tyler Murray, who underwent tests on Tuesday to determine the discomfort in his left (non-throwing) hand. Murray is the lone returning catcher. The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Kekai Rios, and Chayce Ka‘aua and David Noworyta graduated. Dallas Duarte, a Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate, will handle the bulk of the catching.
“Dallas Duarte is a tremendous defender behind the plate,” Trapasso said.
Second baseman Dustin Demeter, who will not play this season, recently underwent a second hip procedure. Jack Kennelly and Tyler Best will split time at second this season.
The Rainbow Warriors will play an alumni team on Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. The ’Bows open the season against Portland on Feb. 15.
