Quintin Torres-Costa, Chayce Ka’aua, and Kobi Candaroma get up early in the morning and start their day with Kaha Wong’s Big Island Baseball program, working out at his hitting cage on Railroad Avenue and then motoring down to Walter Victor Stadium for overtime.
The trio not only share a bond as UH-Manoa teammates, but also serve as the Big Island’s best class of candidates for the Major League Baseball first-year player draft, which runs June 8-10.
Torres-Costa, a 6-foot, 190-pound left-handed pitcher, is draft-eligible as a redshirt sophomore. Candaroma, a recent Kamehameha graduate and center fielder, signed with the Rainbow Warriors and is also draft-eligible. Ka’aua, a redshirt freshman catcher, will be eligible next year.
Each has displayed a major league tool, and have the potential for growth, a key component for scouts, who file two grades in their reports: present and future tools.
Torres-Costa’s fastball is in the high 80s to low 90 mph range, about major league average. He’s topped out at 93 mph. But beyond his velocity, his most attractive asset has been the movement, especially the late-diving action, on his fastball, a reason he posted 18 2/3 scoreless innings with 26 strikeouts and eight saves out of the bullpen.
Candaroma’s best tool is his speed. He’s been clocked at 6.6 seconds in the 60-yard dash, and said he posted a 6.7 during a pro showcase earlier this year in Anaheim, Calif., and both times are better than MLB average.
He’s fairly comparable to 2014 Hilo graduate and outfielder Jodd Carter, a 24th-round pick of the Cleveland Indians. Both are roughly the same size at 5-10 and 170 pounds with similar speed.
As for the 5-10, 185-pound Ka’aua, his throws to second base have ranged from 1.89 to 1.9 seconds, with a best of 1.83 seconds. MLB average is right below 2.0 seconds with most big league catchers consistently in the 1.8 to 1.98 second range.
“The scouts told me I have a super quick release,” Ka’aua said. “But I want to get my arm stronger and drop my time down. If I can have a super quick release and stronger arm, that’ll help me big-time.
“Being back home with coach Kaha helps me a lot. I get a lot of confidence and everyone sees it in my swing and notices that.”
Like Ka’aua, Candaroma enjoys the habit of working hard and improving all aspects of his game.
“It’s not rocket science. You’ll only get to someplace in life if you work hard,” Candaroma said.
The most important tool for a MLB catcher is the ability to block breaking balls in the dirt. One who doesn’t have that fundamental footwork is a liability for pitchers with runners on base.
It helped Ka’aua’s footwork that he also played middle infield growing up, and he was the second baseman on the 2011 Hilo Senior League team that won the World Series. That championship ballclub also included Torres-Costa, a 2012 Waiakea graduate, and JJ Kitaoka, a 2013 Konawaena graduate and UH redshirt freshman.
Same old Q
Ka’aua, a 2013 Hilo grad, realized Torres-Costa was back to his old self when he faced Cal State Fullerton, a notorious fastball-hitting ballclub. Torres-Costa underwent Tommy John surgery during the spring of 2013.
“Fullerton’s whole team can hit the fastball, but Q mowed them down,” Ka’aua said. “Those guys said it was his motion and he hides the ball well. He’s hard to pick up, and his ball shoots out and you don’t see it at all.”
Torres-Costa rocks back in his delivery, bending his left knee before he reaches his load. It helps his rhythm, and also serves as a slight pause — like a Japanese pitcher’s delivery hesitation — to throw off a hitter’s timing.
“Health-wise I’m 100 percent as a pitcher,” Torres-Costa said. “But I always want to get better, even it’s just 1 percent every day. Being back home with coach Kaha and coach Jerry Meyer it gives me the desire to do more hard work, and be grateful to play ball at UH, and have the opportunity to be draft-eligible.
“I have to credit coach Jerry. He watches every game and he calls it a dip when I bend my left knee. He emphasizes that I be smooth in my delivery and confident in myself. Coming out of the bullpen, my mindset was to go in, do my job, get outs and help my team win. That’s what helped me.”
Torres-Costa went to the same pro showcase in Anaheim that Candaroma was invited to. The UH southpaw’s last pro workout was on May 31 at Dodger Stadium, a memorable experience.
“It was very surreal, just being in the stadium with all the history and throwing off the main mound,” Torres-Costa said.
No one from the Los Angeles Dodgers told him his velocity that day. Torres-Costa didn’t really need to know anyway. He felt good and smooth in his delivery, and a scout gave him a nice sign.
“The Dodger scout, who worked me out, gave me a thumb’s up,” Torres-Costa said.