Chicago White Sox player development staff includes Blake Hickman — a graduate of Simeon and the team’s ACE program
The Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite program is part of Blake Hickman’ s baseball story. “I’ m loving it so far,” Hickman said in a video conference.“ Just getting the chance to get to know these guys early, get down to instructs and meeting guys like Noah Schulz and all the guys in the previous drafts, it’ s been exciting. “Sometimes there are players that come along that...
The Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program is part of Blake Hickman’s baseball story.
Hickman now looks to help develop aces — and relievers — as a pitching coach in the Sox organization.
The Sox announced their 2023 player development staff Tuesday, and Hickman will be the pitching coach at Class A Kannapolis in his professional coaching debut.
“I’m loving it so far,” Hickman said in a video conference. “Just getting the chance to get to know these guys early, get down to instructs and meeting guys like (pitching prospect) Noah Schulz and all the guys in the previous drafts, it’s been exciting.
“Getting to learn from some of the best baseball minds that I’ve played for and with, I’m excited.”
Hickman, 29, is a graduate of the ACE program and Simeon. According to the Sox, he is the first former ACE player to coach for the organization. He also played in the minor leagues in the Sox organization after they selected him in the seventh round of the 2015 draft out of Iowa.
“Sometimes there are players that come along that you feel like, when their playing days are finished, would be quality instructors, front-office members — what have you — and Blake was certainly one of those guys, regardless of his path to coming to the White Sox as a drafted player,” assistant general manager/player development Chris Getz said during a video conference.
“Yet on top of being a drafted player and having his experience in the minor leagues, being that he was an ACE member … and being a player in our minor-league system, (it’s) now even more special that he’s joining our minor-league staff as a pitching coach.”
Hickman appeared in 50 minor-league games with Sox affiliates in 2017-18.
“That first season, coming off Tommy John surgery and just coming out of college, knowing the workload and how to really treat your body and take care of your body, that was the biggest thing for me,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to take into this year because I’ve got a lot of college guys, making them understand that this is a longer season, you’ve got to change some things up that you used to do in college.
“Because (Kannapolis) was where I started, it’s going to be awesome to share my experience with these guys. The game has changed since I played. The guys are learning much faster at this level, so it’s going to be awesome to learn from them and them learn from me through my experience of playing at the low-A level.”
While Hickman imagined he would be on the field as a player, he’s welcoming this role.
“You know, careers change,” he said, “and when this opportunity fell into my lap, I worked hard for this and I’m excited that I’m back wearing this White Sox uniform again.”
Here’s the full list of Tuesday’s announcement.
Player development staff
- Assistant general manager/player development: Chris Getz
- Director of minor-league administration: Kathy Potoski
- Assistant director, player development: Kenny Williams Jr.
- Assistant director, baseball operations: Graham Harboe
- Manager, player development/international operations: Grant Flick
- Assistant, player development/video: Jack Larimer
- Biomechanical analyst: C.J. Gearhart
- Manager, player development/Latin America operations: Louis Silverio
- Manager, international player development/education: Erin Santana
Player development instructors/rovers
- Field coordinator: Doug Sisson
- Pitching coordinator: Everett Teaford
- Assistant pitching coordinator: Matt Zaleski
- Assistant pitching coordinator: Donnie Veal
- Pitching adviser: J.R. Perdew
- Hitting coordinator: Andy Barkett
- Assistant hitting coordinator: Danny Santin
- Infield coordinator/coach development: Ryan Newman
- Catching coordinator: Julio Mosquera
- Assistant outfield/baserunning coordinator: Mike Daniel
- Rehab pitching coach: Michael Bradshaw
- Hitting initiatives: Devin DeYoung
- Minor-league performance coordinator: Gage Crosgrove
- Assistant minor-league performance coordinator: Sergio Rojas
Medical staff
- Medical coordinator: Scott Takao
- Physical therapist coordinator: Brooks Klein
- Minor-league physical therapist: Katie Stone
- Minor-league physical therapist: Evan Jurjevic
- Sports psychologist: Dr. Rob Seifer
- Nutritionists: Danielle Mach and Christine Jordhamo
Arizona operations
- Facility manager: Joe Lachcik
- Minor-league clubhouse and equipment manager: Dan Flood
- Assistant minor-league clubhouse manager: Bryant Biasotti
Triple-A Charlotte
- Manager: Justin Jirschele
- Assistant pitching coordinator/pitching coach: Matt Zaleski
- Hitting coach: Cameron Seitzer
- Trainer: Hyeon Kim
- Performance coach: George Timke
Double-A Birmingham
- Manager: Lorenzo Bundy
- Pitching coach: Danny Farquhar
- Hitting coach: Nicky Delmonico
- Trainer: Jeremy Kneebusch
- Performance coach: Dan Morrison
Class A Winston-Salem
- Manager: Guillermo Quiroz
- Pitching coach: John Ely
- Hitting coach: Jason Krizan
- Trainer: Carson Wooten
- Performance coach: Logan Jones
Class A Kannapolis
- Manager: Patrick Leyland
- Pitching coach: Blake Hickman
- Hitting coach: Charlie Romero
- Trainer: AJ Smith
- Performance coach: Juan Maldonado
Arizona Complex League White Sox
- Manager: Danny González
- Bench coach/hitting coach: Mike Gellinger
- Pitching coach: Drew Hasler
- Hitting coach: Gerardo Olivares
- Fundamentals coach: Ángel Rosario
- Trainer: Scott Johnson
- Trainer: Chaerin Yeom
- Performance coach/rehab: Daniel Cobian
Dominican Republic Academy/DSL White Sox
- Field coordinator/hitting coach: Julio Bruno
- Manager, complex operations: Wellington Morrobel
- Administrative assistant: Carolina Santos
- Infield coach: Guillermo Reyes
- Manager: Anthony Núñez
- Pitching coach: José Brito
- Assistant hitting coach/catching coach: Moisés Núñez
- Assistant coach: Ángel González
- Performance coach: Fran Bautista
- Assistant performance coach: Carlos Javier
- Trainer: Gustavo De La Cruz
- Video coordinator: Miguel Pérez
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