Vinnie Catricala and Kevin Macdonald are hardly household names in Hawai'i baseball. But in time, they will be.

The two freshmen have shown in spot starts and substitutions that they are ready to be contributors to the program. Just how much remains to be seen. An injury to a starter here, or a slump there, they could be making an impact before the year is out. But for now, their roles are as backups, or as designated hitters. Each knows his time will come.

"I'm just doing whatever coach (Mike Trapasso) needs me to do," said Macdonald, who was recruited for his versatility.

Catricala is backing up third baseman Justin Frash and first baseman Kris Sanchez. Both are hitting well and aren't expected to be displaced anytime soon.

"I know I'm backing up the best players in the conference," Catricala said of Frash (batting .353) and Sanchez (batting .404).

Macdonald and Catricala are showing signs of what UH coaches saw in them as prospects. Macdonald is hitting .290, drawing six walks while striking out seven times. He has played in 13 games, seven as a starter. He has made starts at first base, second, left field and DH.

Catricala is hitting .278 with a double, triple and nine RBIs. He has seven walks to five strikeouts. He has played in 14 games, eight as a starter (seven at DH and one at third).

Macdonald was an early signee out of Palm Desert (Calif.) High. He grew up playing on traveling teams with sophomore catcher Landon Hernandez, who served as his host during his recruiting visit. Macdonald has always been a versatile player. As a high school freshman, he started in left field before an injury to the catcher put him behind the plate for the rest of the season. He then played second base his sophomore and junior years. His senior year, he played shortstop. The only position he didn't play in high school was first base, a position he could play for the Rainbows if pressed.

"We told him we were looking at him as a third baseman-catcher guy," Trapasso said. "We knew right away (in fall workouts) he was capable of playing first base, second base and the outfield."

Macdonald is UH's emergency catcher. The left-handed hitting Bryan Ruff, a JC transfer, is the third catcher. But if the circumstances call for more right-handed hitters, Macdonald might be used as the third catcher, Trapasso said. In Western Athletic Conference play, which starts tomorrow for UH, the active roster must be pared to 25 players by the lineup exchange of the first game of the series.

"I'd be comfortable (at catcher)," said Macdonald, who has yet to play there this season. "I'll need a little work. Obviously, I'm not Landon (Hernandez), but I'm working on it as much as I can."

His many skills does not include pitching, so don't expect him to pull a reverse Tyler Davis. The pitcher asked to play the outfield and had his wish granted in the Chicago State series.

"But if coach asks me to, I'd be willing to," Macdonald said.

Won't happen, Trapasso said.

Macdonald did pitch an inning in high school sort of the way Davis got to play the outfield here several weeks ago.

"I kind of coaxed my coach to let me throw against a team we were up ahead by a whole bunch," Macdonald said with a smile.

Macdonald said his only other college choice was UC Riverside, which is near his home. But choosing was a no-brainer.

"If you go to UCR, the stadium's nothing like this," he said of Les Murakami Stadium. "It's just a nice place to play baseball."

Catricala was signed during the summer. Trapasso said there was some correspondence, but he never had a chance to see Catricala play. In fact, Catricala vacationed for a week here with friends as part of his high school graduation treat. He knew of UH because his father is a friend of the father of former UH pitcher Justin Costi.

"I was going to go out (to the UH office) to introduce myself to the coaches," Catricala said. "But they were out playing at Oregon State (for the regionals)."

During the summer, Trapasso was out scouting and was disappointed with what he saw at an all-star weekend in Irvine, Calif. He headed to San Bernardino, where Catricala happened to be playing.

"You know of guys and correspond with them," Trapasso said of the situation. "But you have to see them. We finally got a chance to see him. He's one of those guys when we saw him, we knew right away he was a player."

Catricala, otherwise, was headed to Sacramento City JC as a draft-and-follow. While in Hawai'i vacationing, he was selected in the 50th round out of Jesuit High in Sacramento, Calif., by the Cleveland Indians.

"It was kind of exciting for me," he said of being drafted.

But he is happy to be a Rainbow, despite it taking some serendipitous events for that to happen.

"It was really, really weird, like it was meant to be," he said.

Now it's just a matter of time before Catricala and Macdonald become names to remember.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.