This University of Hawaii baseball season, every game is an episode of the “masked slinger.”
UH head coach Rich Hill has rotated strong-armed catchers Konnor Palmeira, Hunter Faildo and David Vergel de Dios. Hill will unveil the masked player based on strategy, analytics or hunches.
With DallasJ Duarte and Austin Machado completing their UH careers at the end of last season, Hill noted this year’s Rainbow Warriors are “a work in progress … behind the plate. We can use a three-catcher rotation.”
Palmeira has played in 14 of the ’Bows’ 16 games, starting nine at catcher. Faildo has started five games, Vergel de Dios two. Palmeira also has been used as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. Hill has used two catchers in seven games, three in three contests. Palmeira, Faildo and Vergel de Dios are right-handed; emergency catcher Aidan Kuni bats from the left side but throws with his right arm.
“We feel if there’s an RBI situation or maybe a guy’s on first and that hole’s open, we can pinch hit a lefty,” Hill said. “Kind of let the right-handed matchup run its course with Hunter, Konnor and David.”
Hill said it’s a tactic the Oakland A’s of the 1970s used with second basemen. “Those guys would come up, and they’d pinch hit for them,” Hill said. “We can play baseball like a basketball game. We use a lot of guys. We want to be forward thinking at that position.”
With a .250 average, Palmeira is the best hitter of the catchers. But he is 2-for-14 in throwing out runners on attempted steals. Faildo has thrown out three of six. Vergel de Dios is 1-for-4.
“I’ve definitely worked on some things,” Palmeira said. “I’m more comfortable back there now that I have more games under my belt.”
Palmeira, a 2020 Kamehameha-Maui graduate, played 21 games, starting 10, as freshman for the ’Bows in 2021. He played the 2022 season at Everett Community College, and the next two seasons at Cal State Bakersfield, where he began playing catcher. Last August, he transferred back to UH.
“The atmosphere is much different than my COVID year (in 2021) when there were cardboard cutouts (replicating fans) in the stands,” Palmeira said of his return to Les Murakami Stadium. “Now there are 4,000 people in the stands all rooting for UH. It’s surreal. It’s the best stadium I’ve ever played in. It’s what I dreamed about as a kid being in front of all these people at the Les.”
Palmeira has learned to adjust to a new assigned mitt — Wilson instead of Rawlings — and Murakami’s spacious foul territory, where passed balls and wild pitches can roll a long way. He also has returned to the squat positioning that his father, a former catcher, used. He said he prefers it to the growing trend of catching with a knee on the ground.
Faildo was used at several positions in youth leagues before being asked to catch. “I kind of got stuck behind the plate, and I kind of enjoyed it,” Faildo said.
Faildo’s strong arm, ability to block pitches in the dirt, and easiness in handling pitchers helped the Mililani High graduate earn an opportunity at Pima Community College in Arizona. After leading Pima to a regional championship in 2023, he transferred to UH.
Faildo has built a strong relationship with UH’s 23 pitchers. “They make it easy,” he said. “They all compete when they’re up there (on the mound). They’re in the zone.”
He also has mastered blocking errant pitches.
“You have to work extra hard to keep the ball in front of you because there’s so much foul ground to play with,” Faildo said.
Palmeira and Faildo are roommates on road trips, as well as mentors to Vergel de Dios, a freshman from Maui. And they have embraced their roles.
“Rich told all three of us to be ready every game,” Faildo said. “I go with the mentality if I’m not in the starting lineup, I’ll still be in there. I’m staying mentally prepared throughout the game so when my number gets called, I’m ready to go in there and work my butt off for the team.”
RAINBOW BASEBALL
At Les Murakami Stadium
UC SANTA BARBARA (14-2, 3-0 Big West) vs. Hawaii (12-4, 1-2 BW)
>> Schedule: 6:35 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 1:05 p.m. Sunday
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1500-AM Friday, Saturday; 1420-AM / 92.7-FM Sunday
>> Streaming: None
