For Carter Loewen of the University of Hawaii baseball team, his two passions — auto detailing and pitching — are arts and crafts.

By day, Loewen is working at a car dealership in Vancouver to earn spending money. “It’s a good job,” Loewen said. “I like it.”

In the evening, he lifts weights and works on his pitching. “All our gyms are opening back up,” said Loewen, who grew up in British Columbia.

It is Loewen’s attention to detail, diligence, and workmanlike approach that are expected to be recognized next week. If these were normal times, Loewen would project as an eighth-round selection in the Major League Baseball draft for first-year players. But this year’s draft, which will be conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, will be five rounds — down from recent 40-round drafts. If he is not selected, Loewen is expected to receive a free-agent offer. Signing bonuses are capped at $20,000 per undrafted free agent.

“I’ve been in contact with quite a few teams, and the interest varies,” Loewen said. “It’s very much a wait-and-see situation. A lot of it is out of my control.”

Loewen, who earned his bachelor’s degree last month, also would have the option of returning to UH as a fifth-year player.

But if given an opportunity to play professionally, Loewen said, “I think I’m ready. I think now’s the prime time. I’m 21 years old. I’m physically in the best shape I’ve ever been. And mentally, I’m ready to get after it. If the opportunity arises where I get picked in the five rounds or where I’ll be a free-agent signing, I’ll definitely consider that option strongly.”

UH coach Mike Trapasso said Loewen’s hard work is “100% responsible” for his comeback from a shoulder injury and rocky performances the past fall. In the abbreviated 2020 season, Loewen did not allow a run in six of seven appearances, including a save against second-ranked Vanderbilt. His velocity, which was in the high 80s in fall training, topped at 95 mph during the season.

There were high hopes for Loewen, who was a member of Canada’s junior national team. Soon after graduating from Yale Secondary School, he was the Toronto’s 40th-round pick in the 2016 draft.

But during his first UH semester, in 2016, an MRI showed problems in his right (pitching) shoulder. There was damage to his labrum, tissue buildup in the rotator cuff, and a tight posterior capsule. Loewen redshirted as a freshman in 2017, pitched in one game in 2018, and made 10 relief appearances in 2019.

It was during the 2019 season, Loewen realized he was limiting his motion.

“If you look at the video before, it was very shot-putty,” Loewen said. “I was leading with my elbow. I was protecting my shoulder. A big part was mentally getting over the hump, where it’s you have to trust your shoulder and say, ‘you’re healthy. You can throw hard, and it’s not going to hurt.’ ”

That summer, Loewen fired away while playing in a league on the West Coast. “That’s when I really started trusting it,” Loewen said.

During fall training, Loewen struggled in exhibitions against Hawaii Pacific and Air Force. But during the winter break, Loewen gained agility through a stretch program and confidence by honing an out pitch, the cutter.

Loewen said he saw a picture of a baseball Mariano Rivera had given to Roy Halladay during All-Star festivities. On the baseball, Rivera had traced an outline of the grip he used to throw his cutter.

“The next day, I went out and played catch with (the grip), and it kind of clicked with me,” said Loewen, who experimented with different finger pressures. Entering the 2020 season, Loewen had mastered the pitch to where “it would go straight down the middle and then it would cut away. That’s just the natural movement.”

Because he threw the cutter at 90 mph, and it would not break until about 45 feet, the pitch complemented his four-seam fastball. With Loewen’s arm slot, his fastball already had sink-and-run movement. The scouts took notice.