Paul Menhart, '19 Nats pitching coach, joins KC's MiLB staff

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals are bringing back several of their Minor League coordinators and support staff from last season, which they announced Wednesday, but a few new titles and an outside hire give a slightly new look to Kansas City’s player development staff for 2023.

Of note, Drew Saylor was promoted to director of hitting performance in his fourth season with Kansas City, leading the hitting player development team with senior director of hitting performance and Major League hitting coach Alec Zumwalt focusing his efforts on manager Matt Quatraro’s coaching staff.

Nate Adcock, who pitched for the Royals from 2011-12, was promoted to assistant director of pitching performance/scouting after rejoining Kansas City as a pro scout in '20. He’ll work with senior director of pitching performance Paul Gibson, who returns in the same role he’s been in since '19, working with Minor League pitchers.

The Royals hired former Nationals pitching coach Paul Menhart to be a pitching advisor in player development. Menhart spent 15 seasons with the Nats and two as their pitching coach from 2019-20, winning the 2019 World Series with the club.

“That was just the combination of all the other experiences that I was so gratefully given the opportunity to take part in over the years,” Menhart said. “To get called up to the big leagues like that was just like a reward. And then to have that type of success right out of the chute, there’s really no words that can explain it. It was just a gift.”

When Washington fired pitching coach Derek Lilliquist in May 2019, it promoted Menhart, a longtime pitching coach in its system who had spent five years as the Minor League coordinator.

According to the Washington Post, the Nationals sought a new message to help their inconsistent pitching staff find its footing during an abysmal stretch that saw them fall to 19-31. By promoting Menhart, who pitched for three seasons in the big leagues from 1995-97, Washington felt his hands-on, analytical and exacting approach when diagnosing a pitcher's issue could trigger staff-wide improvement. He soon helped the Nats to a World Series title.

“The reconnection with some of the guys I had in the Minor Leagues was incredible,” Menhart said. “I did my best to make myself available to them, and all I asked is that they were available to me if I needed them. That was it. And it blossomed from there.”

Between getting let go by Washington after the ’20 season and now, Menhart coached in Taiwan for nine months.

Now, he will advise the Royals’ player development staff in hopes of finding more success with homegrown pitchers. He’ll work closely with Gibson -- the two were teammates for a month in the Toronto organization in 1995 -- and be hands-on in helping young pitchers at different affiliates. Menhart’s addition speaks to the changes the Royals have been making behind the scenes in a relatively quiet offseason, particularly adding new voices to improve the player development system.

“I want to get to know each and every kid and each and every pitch,” Menhart said. “That’s something I loved doing when I was with the Nationals. And I think those types of relationships are imperative to get the most out of each individual.

“I’m looking forward to it. I know they’re young, and I know they’re hungry. … I know there’s a major emphasis on the analytical side, and those are some of the things I’m extremely familiar with. Everybody’s trying to improve, and I’m looking forward to helping out whenever and wherever I can.”

Here is the full list of Royals Minor League directors and coordinators:

• Paul Gibson, senior director of pitching performance
• Drew Saylor, director of hitting performance
• Will Simon, director of Arizona operations
• Justin Hahn, director of medial services/physical therapy
• Erica Wincheski, director of sports nutrition
• Nate Adcock, assistant director of pitching performance/scouting
• Scott Thorman, Minor League field coordinator
• Justin Kemp, Minor League medical coordinator
• Jarrett Abell, strength and conditioning/rehab coordinator
• J.C. Boscan, catching coordinator
• Brittany Bozzini, performance science coordinator
• Sebastián Cambó, behavioral science coordinator
• Omar Ramírez, Arizona field coordinator
• Victor Baez, Dominican Academy field coordinator
• Brenden Sexton, Minor League video coordinator
• Paul Menhart, pitching advisor
• Nic Jackson, assistant hitting coordinator
• Abraham Núñez, assistant hitting coordinator/Latin America
• Phil Falco, assistant strength and conditioning coordinator
• Tony Medina, Minor League/Latin America medical assistant coordinator
• Joey Manana, assistant strength and conditioning coordinator/Latin America

Seven others round out the Minor League support staff:

• Justin Friedman, assistant manager of pitching
• Jorge Guzman, Arizona Complex assistant/life skills coach
• Fabio Herrera, manager of internal operations
• Monica Ramirez, education/ESL and Latin American initiatives coordinator
• Massiel Rodriguez, assistant to Dominican operations
• Susana Richardson, Dominican Academy administrative assistant
• Logan Gudde, physical therapist