Pittsburgh Pirates Name 2015 Minor League Coaching Staffs
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Thursday their 2015 coaching staffs for their eight Minor League affiliates. Here is who will be watching over the Jolly Rogers top prospects.
1) Indianapolis Indians – Triple AAA – International League: Dean Treanor, who is the most tenured skipper in the Bucs’ farm system, returns to helm Indianapolis for a fifth consecutive season. His hitting coach will be Butch Wynegar and Stan Kyles is the caretaker for the pitchers.
2) Altoona Curve – Double AA – Eastern League: Tom Prince has been handed the keys to the manager’s office with the dismissal of Carlos Garcia. Kevin Riggs will mentor the hitters and Justin Meccage will tutor the pitchers.
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3) Bradenton Marauders – Single A Advanced – Florida State League: Mike Ryan moves up from the Power to take over the Marauders. The hitting coach is Ryan Long and the pitching coach is Scott Elarton.
4) West Virginia Power – Single A – South Atlantic League – Charleston, WV: Brian Esposito , who last season managed short-season Single-A Jamestown , arrives to lead the Power. Keoni DeRenne is back teaching the hitters and Mark DiFelice returns to instruct the pitchers.
5) West Virginia Black Bears – Short Season Single A – New York/Penn League – Morgantown, WV: It will be the inaugural season of the Black Bears with the move south from Jamestown, NY. Wyatt Toregas makes his debut as a manager. He was the Pittsburgh’s video advance scout in 2013 and 2014. Jonathan Prieto has been assigned the hitters, and Tom Filer serves as the pitching coach.
6) Bristol Pirates – Rookie Level – Appalachian League – Bristol, VA: Edgar Valera returns to be in charge of the dugout. Austin McClune will help the hitters, and Jeff Johnson will be responsible for the hurlers.
7) GCL Pirates – Rookie Level – Gulf Coast League – Bradenton, FL: Filling out the lineup card will be Milver Reyes. Kory DeHaan will keep an eye on the hitters and Elvin Nina will look after the pitchers .
8) DSL Pirates – Rookie Level – Dominican Summer League – Boca Chica, Dominican Republic: Mendy Lopez will lead the Pirates’ crew at the Dominican Academy, overseen by Gera Alvarez. Osiel Flores will attend to the hitters and Dan Urbina will shepherd the pitchers.
From The Clipboard: Pittsburgh had 12 eligible players file for salary arbitration before Tuesday’s midnight ET deadline. They are Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Mark Melancon, Travis Snider, Chris Stewart, Vance Worley, Tony Watson, Jared Hughes, and Josh Harrison. The Pirates are tied with the Washington Nationals for the most in the major league baseball.
The hard numbers will be submitted on Friday. It is possible that the Buccos could have worked out a deal with all 12. That is the objective of general manager Neal Huntington, who in seven years has done a great job of staying out of hearings. He has had just two of them and argued to a split, losing in 2011 to pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and winning the ruling over first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones in 2012.