As the White Sox get ready for 2023, this morning, the club announced their 2023 player development staff – from the front office all the way down to the Arizona Complex League team. This group features plenty of names old and new, with all returning minor league managers moving up a level and many other coaches receiving promotions as well.
Chris Getz released the following statement regarding the team’s development staff in 2023:
“The group we have assembled to help lead and develop our minor league players, from coordinators to managers and coaches, is as strong of a group as we have had here with diverse backgrounds and high-level experience. We have had a productive off-season with multiple in-person camps and a successful rollout and execution of our new strength and conditioning program. We are well-positioned to hit the ground running next month and will continue our goal of getting the most out of our players in preparation for playing in Chicago. I believe the programs we have built in player development reflect the quality of our players and instructors, and I am excited to see our full staff on the field again with our players and the impact their work will have on the 2023 season and beyond.”
While it is difficult sometimes to evaluate the changes year-over-year due to the creation of new roles/re-naming of roles, here is a review of each aspect of the player development staff, including the changes we can identify.
Front Office
Here is the rundown of the White Sox’ 2023 player development staff in the front office. New individuals/roles are bolded, while promotions/additional roles are italicized.
- Assistant GM/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
The front office remains relatively unchanged season-over-season. Getz enters his seventh year overseeing the organization’s minor-league operations and player development system. The biggest change here is Kathy Potoski’s role as Director of Minor League Administration, apparently taking over for Jasmine Dunston in this role. Dunston spent a year as the team’s Director of Minor League Operations after a year in player development for the Cincinnati Reds. It is possible Dunston is still with the organization, however, she is no longer listed on the White Sox’ front office page.
Potoski has spent 24 years in the White Sox’ organization, with 22 of them as a Senior Coordinator of Minor League Administration. She spent last year as the Manager of Minor League Administration and has now once again been promoted to a director role. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Lewis University in Advertising/Marketing in 1997.
Louis Silverio has also been with the White Sox for some time, first as a player from 2014-2018, then as a Director of the team’s Dominican Republic Academy from 2018-2022. He is taking this new Manager role with looks to be an expansion beyond just responsibilities in the Dominican Republic.
Finally, Erin Santana was the team’s Education Coordinator in 2022, so this new Manager role in International Player Development appears to be an expansion of responsibility as well.
Player Development Instructors/Rovers
There have been a few changes to the team’s player development instructors.
Devin DeYoung is receiving both a promotion from a minor-league hitting coach and a position in a new role by taking on the “Hitting Initiatives” role – though it is unclear exactly what this will involve. The team has also added an Assistant Minor League Performance Coordinator in Sergio Rojas. Danny Santin replaces Ryan Johansen as an Assistant Hitting Coordinator, while Donnie Veal becomes the latest former White Sox player to join the organization.
Coordinators returning include Doug Sisson (field), Everett Teaford (pitching), Andy Barkett (hitting), Ryan Newman (infield and coach development), and Julio Mosquera (catching). Longtime pitching instructor J.R. Perdew enters his first season as a pitching advisor.
- Field Coordinator: Doug Sisson
- Pitching Coordinator: Everett Teaford
- Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Matt Zaleski
- Assistant Pitching Coordinator: Donnie Veal
- Pitching Advisor: 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
There have been no changes to the team’s minor league medical staff – though that does not mean there weren’t any changes to the training staff of each minor league team (see below).
- 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
Minor Leagues
As previously mentioned, any returning manager for the White Sox was moved up one league. However, there were also some promotions on the staff along with some new names. New individuals/roles are bolded, while promotions/additional roles are italicized.
Triple-A Charlotte Knights:
- Manager: Justin Jirschele
- Pitching Coach: Matt Zaleski
- Hitting Coach: Cameron Seitzer
- Trainer: Hyeon Kim
- Performance Coach: George Timke
Double-A Birmingham Barons:
- Manager: Lorenzo Bundy
- Pitching Coach: Danny Farquhar
- Hitting Coach: Nicky Delmonico
- Trainer: Jeremy Kneebusch
- Performance Coach: Dan Morrison
Class-A Advanced Winston-Salem Dash
- Manager: Guillermo Quiroz
- Pitching Coach: John Ely
- Hitting Coach: Jason Krizan
- Trainer: Carson Wooten
- Performance Coach: Logan Jones
Class-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- 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 Gonzalez
- Bench Coach/Hitting Coach: Mike Gellinger
- Pitching Coach: Drew Hasler
- Hitting Coach: Gerardo Olivares
- Fundamentals Coach: Angel Rosario
- Trainers: Scott Johnson, Chaerin Yeom
- Performance Coach/Rehab: Daniel Cobian
Dominican Republic/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: Gusvato De La Cruz
- Video Coordinator: Miguel Pérez
Perhaps as no surprise following their 2022 season, the White Sox have almost completely overhauled their training and performance staff at the minor league level. The only notable holdovers are Jeremy Kneebusch, who has been promoted from Kannapolis to Birmingham, and Scott Johnson, who remains in Arizona but is now accompanied by a new, second trainer in Chaerin Yeom. Notably, the team has also added a Video Coordinator role in the Dominican.
The two new managers to the White Sox’ minor league staff are Danny Gonzalez down in Arizona and Anthony Núñez in the Dominican, with every other manager moving up one level to replace Wes Helms – who leaves surrounded by some controversy after being placed on indefinite leave by the organization last season. More details were never formally announced. Jirschele remains the name of note among managers, and at just 32 years old, has quickly risen through the ranks in the organization and is viewed by many as a future major league manager. He has been with the organization as a manager since 2017 as a 27-year-old.
Former White Sox players returning to the organization as coaches include Nicky Delmonico (promotion from the same role in High-A in 2022), Danny Farquhar (promotion from the same role in High-A in 2022), and Blake Hickman (new role). Hickman makes his professional coaching debut as the pitching coach with Kannapolis. He is a graduate of the White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program and pitched in 50 minor-league games with the Sox from 2017-18.
One final interesting name of note here is Jason Krizan, who was playing in the major leagues as recently as last season. Krizan was 1-for-8 with the 2022 Giants, but the soon-to-be 34-year-old has apparently announced his retirement and will be joining the White Sox organization.
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