Colorado Rockies announce 2021 Minor League staff
DENVER – The Colorado Rockies announced today their Minor League staff for the 2021 season.
The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes will welcome back Warren Schaeffer as manager after he was named to the position prior to the cancelled 2020 season. Returning as pitching coach is Blaine Beatty, who also was named to the position prior to the 2020 season following one season as Rookie Level Grand Junction’s pitching coach in 2019. Cesar Galvez will join the Albuquerque staff as a coach after being named manager of Short-Season Boise prior to 2020. Previously, Galvez was a coach for Boise from 2018-19 following a seven-year career as a Minor League infielder in the Rockies organization.
The Hartford Yard Goats announced a new coaching staff for the 2020 season that will be returning for 2021. Prior to last season it was announced that former Major Leaguer Chris Denorfia would become Colorado’s Double-A manager. Denorfia spent the 2019 season as a quality assurance coach with the Chicago Cubs after finishing his playing career in the Rockies organization in 2017. Frank Gonzales, entering his 10th season in the Rockies organization, will serve as the club’s pitching coach after spending 2018-19 as High-A Lancaster’s supervisor of development. Tom Sutaris joins Hartford after spending 2018-19 as Lancaster’s hitting coach.
Colorado’s new High-A affiliate, the Spokane Indians, will feature Pedro Lopez as supervisor of development, Scott Little as manager, Ryan Kibler as pitching coach and Zach Osborne as hitting coach. Lopez joined the Rockies organization as the supervisor of development for Rookie Level Grand Junction prior to the 2020 season following 12 seasons in the New York Mets organization. Little was named manager of High-A Lancaster in 2019 following two seasons with Short-Season Boise. Osborne was named Low-A Asheville’s hitting coach for 2020 following two seasons in the same role for Grand Junction.
The staff of the Fresno Grizzlies, Colorado’s new Low-A affiliate, will be comprised of Steve Soliz as supervisor of development, Robinson Cancel as manager, Mark Brewer as pitching coach and Nic Wilson as hitting coach. Soliz was named High-A Lancaster’s supervisor of development prior to the 2020 season after managing Short-Season Boise for the 2019 season, his first in the Rockies organization. Cancel comes to Fresno following three seasons as Low-A Asheville’s manager (2017-19). Brewer, who will be coaching his eighth season in the Rockies organization, also joins the Fresno staff from Asheville, where he was pitching coach for two seasons (2018-19). Wilson will embark on his first season coaching in the organization after being named Boise’s hitting coach prior to the cancelled 2020 season.
Fred Ocasio, who begins his 25th season with the Rockies after two seasons as Boise’s supervisor of development, will serve the same role with the Arizona Complex staff. Jake Opitz, who managed Rookie Level Grand Junction for three seasons (2017-19) will become manager. Dave Burba will embark on his 11th season in the Rockies organization as the pitching coach after filling the role for Lancaster for two seasons (2018-19) prior to being named pitching coach for Boise in advance of the 2020 season. Helmis Rodriguez will also serve as a pitching coach for the Arizona Complex staff after holding the same role in the Dominican Summer League for 2018-19 prior to being named Grand Junction’s pitching coach for 2020. Both Trevor Burmeister and Michael Ramirez will serve as hitting coaches. Burmeister was hired to serve as Grand Junction’s hitting coach prior to the 2020 season, while Ramirez was tapped as Lancaster’s new hitting coach for 2020 following the 2019 season in that role for Boise.
The DSL Rockies staff remains unchanged.