2017 Astros Minor League Coaching Staff

Today, the Houston Astros released their minor league staff assignments for the 2017 season.

The #Astros have announed their minor league field staff for the 2017 season. Details: https://t.co/RAOlIaiiV3

— Houston Astros (@astros) January 10, 2017

COORDINATORS

Pitching: Doug White
Hitting: Jeff Albert
Catching: Mark Bailey
Fundamentals: Dan Radison
Infield: Adam Everett
Complex pitching: Josh Miller
Hitting instructor: Ralph Dickenson
Medical Coordinator: Bryan Baca
Medical Coordinator, Latin America: Christian Bermudez
Strength & Conditioning: Brendan Verner
Strength & Conditioning, Latin America: Rachel Balkovec
Rehab: J.T. Podell
Mental skills: Dr. Jesse Michel

Dr. Michel will be the first Mental Skills Coordinator for the Houston Astros. Prior to being named to the position, he spent the last three years with Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness as a Lead Master Resilience Trainer, helping U.S. Army personnel and their families develop their mental conditioning and toughness in order to cope with and adapt to the rigors that come with military life.

Dr. Michel also has a blog, "The Mental Athlete," but he is in the process of moving it to a new site. You can follow him on Twitter at JesseDMichel.

FRESNO GRIZZLIES

Darryl Robinson will enter his first season as Fresno's hitting coach after spending the last eight seasons with Lancaster. Taylor Rhodes moves up from Corpus Christi.

Manager: Tony DeFrancesco
Pitching Coach: Dyar Miller
Hitting Coach: Darryl Robinson
Development Coach: Aaron DelGiudice
Athletic Trainer: Lee Meyer
Strength & Conditioning: Taylor Rhoades

CORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS

Dwayne Peterson spent 2016 with Lancaster.

Manager: Rodney Linares
Pitching Coach: Dave Borkowski
Hitting Coach: Joel Chimelis
Development Coach: Tommy Kawamura
Athletic Trainer: Grant Hufford
Strength & Conditioning: Dwayne Peterson

BUIES CREEK ASTROS

A brand-new (albeit temporary) team has a brand-new coaching staff. Omar Lopez and Chris Holt are moving up from Quad Cities. Troy Snitker, the son of Braves manager Brian Snitker, gets his first coaching position in the Astros system after helping out at the Kissimmee complex last season.

Former Astro Mickey Storey will serve as the development coach. John Gregorich and Mark Spadavecchia are moving up from Tri-City.

Manager: Omar Lopez
Pitching Coach: Chris Holt
Hitting Coach: Troy Snitker
Development Coach: Mickey Storey
Athletic Trainer: John Gregorich
Strength & Conditioning: Mark Spadavecchia

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS

This is also an all-new staff; everyone will be in their first year with the Banditos. Russ Steinhorn is back in America after his successful stint at the helm of the DSL Blue team. Pitching coach Drew French moves up from Tri-City.

Hitting coach Ben Rosenthal is in his first year with the Astros; according to the Astros' press release, he was the hitting coach at Point Loma Nazarene, a Division II school in San Diego, prior to joining the organization. After finishing his college career at San Diego State, the former catcher played for four seasons as a professional, mainly with independent league teams. In 2004, Rosenthal played at both of the Cardinals' Class A affiliates and played in eight more games at Class A Advanced Palm Beach in 2005.

Elliot Diehl was Greeneville's athletic trainer in 2016.

Manager: Russ Steinhorn
Pitching Coach: Drew French
Hitting Coach: Ben Rosenthal
Development Coach: Jason Bell
Athletic Trainer: Elliot Diehl
Strength & Conditioning: Hazael Wessin

TRI-CITY VALLEYCATS

The always-exuberant Morgan Ensberg will manage a team for the first time in his coaching career. He will be joined by Bill Murphy, who was at Greeneville last season, and Jeremy Barnes, who is new to the Astros organization.

Barnes, a native of Garland, spent four seasons in the Phillies system after they drafted him in the 11th round in 2009 out of Notre Dame. The bulk of his time as a Phillies farmhand was spent in Class A, and he appeared in two games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2012, his final season in the system. He then moved on to independent ball and also had two stints in the Australian Baseball League with the Canberra Cavalry.

Manager: Morgan Ensberg
Pitching Coach: Bill Murphy
Hitting Coach: Jeremy Barnes
Athletic Trainer: Daniel Cerquera

GREENEVILLE ASTROS

In his first coaching job in the United States after starting his career in the Dominican Summer League, Danny Ortega will replace Josh Bonifay as the skipper of the Appy Astros. Ortega shared hitting coach duties with Omar Rosario on the DSL Blue team in 2016.

Erick Abreu and Ben Myers are moving up from the GCL. César Cedeño needs no introduction.

Manager: Danny Ortega
Pitching Coach: Erick Abreu
Hitting Coach: César Cedeño
Athletic Trainer: Ben Myers
Strength & Conditioning: Jacob Behara

GCL ASTROS

Wladimir Sutil will manage a team for the first time in his career.

Jose Rada is another former Cardinal minor leaguer who will be coaching in the Astros' minor league system. Rada pitched in the Cardinals' system from 2006-11, reaching Double-A in his final season.

Manager: Wladimir Sutil
Pitching Coach: Jose Rada
Hitting Coach: Luis Mateo
Athletic Trainer: Christian Bermudez
Strength & Conditioning: Rachel Balkovec

DSL ASTROS BLUE

The Blue team has the only vacancy at manager; we will update the post once it is filled. Evaristo Lantigua was previously a manager for the Padres' Dominican Summer League club.

Manager: Charlie Romero
Pitching Coach: Rick Aponte
Hitting Coaches: Omar Rosario and Evaristo Lantigua
Coach: Erik Acevedo Rojas
Athletic Trainer: Ambiorix Reyes
Strength & Conditioning: Miguel Angel Cabrera

DSL ASTROS ORANGE

Carlos Lugo will enter his second season at the helm of the Orange team. Gerardo Olivares will share pitching coach duties with Darwin Peguero, who pitched in the Astros system from 1997-2002, reaching Round Rock in his final season. After departing the organization, Peguero pitched three more seasons in independent ball.

Manager: Carlos Lugo
Pitching Coaches: Gerardo Olivares and Darwin Peguero
Hitting Coach: René Rojas
Coaches: Alejandro Martinez and Selin Aquino
Athletic Trainer: Roman Rendon
Strength & Conditioning: Mike Myers and Geremias Guzman

Happy Birthday - 4/24

Wishing a Very Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Jay Gause (23)
Gause was born April 24, 1992 in Shallotte, North Carolina, and was drafted by the Astros in the 10th round in 2014 out of Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. Gause pitched for the Short Season A Tri-City ValleyCats in his first season.

Jay Gause - August 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Manager Tony DeFrancesco (52)
DeFrancesco was born April 24, 1963 in the Bronx, New York. 2015 will mark his fifth season managing in the Houston system and his first at the helm of Houston's new AAA affiliate Fresno Grizzlies.

Happy Birthday - 4/24

Happy Birthday to ~

OKC Manager Tony DeFrancesco (51)
Drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round in 1984, Tony spent several years in the Boston and Cincinnati minor league systems, but never made it to the bigs. After coaching in the Oakland system for several years, DeFrancesco helmed the Redhawks team for the first time in 2011. After spending the bulk of the 2012 season with OKC, he took over as Manager for the Astros for the final 41 games of the season going 16-25. DeFrancesco is currently on medical leave, but we are all hoping to see him return to the field soon.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Ivan Murrell (died October 8, 2006 at 63)
Signed by the Colt 45's in 1963 out of Panama, Murrell played in 54 games for the 45's and the Astros in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 before being selected by San Diego in the 1968 expansion draft.

RHP Todd Jones (46)
A first round draft pick by Houston in 1989, Jones played for the Astros from 1993 to 1996 before being included in this trade to Detroit (according to Baseball-Reference):

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigers for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

He went on to play in 16 seasons for eight different teams. While with Houston, he was 18-12 with 39 saves in 194 games, and had a 3.27 ERA and a 1.330 WHIP. He was the AL saves leader and an All-Star in 2000 for Detroit.

CF Carlos Beltran (37)
Originally drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 1995, Beltran came to Houston in this trade:

June 24, 2004: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros. The Oakland Athletics sent Mark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Kansas City Royals. The Houston Astros sent Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. The Houston Astros sent John Buck and cash to the Kansas City Royals.

In 90 regular season games for Houston in 2004, he hit .258/.368/.559 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 58 RBI. In post-season play for Houston, he hit .435 in 12 games with eight home runs and 14 RBI.

There are many awards and superlatives associated with Beltran's career, but because of the way he left Houston, one of the first things that comes to my mind when thinking of him is a sign I saw in the stands during the 2005 World Series reading "How's the view from your couch, Beltran?"

Beltran is in his first season with the Yankees.

AAA Oklahoma City Skipper to Miss Start of the Season

According to a very brief post from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle this afternoon, the Astros have announced that Tony DeFrancesco, Manager of the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks has been diagnosed with cancer and will miss the beginning of the season. No further information has been released at this time.

UPDATE: It is now being reported that Tom Lawless will be interim manager of the OKC team while DeFrancesco undergoes treatment at M.D. Anderson Center Center in Houston. Treatment is expected to take five to six weeks. DeFrancesco is expected to make a full recovery and to be able to resume his duties as Manager of the RedHawks in mid-May. Good news indeed!

Happy Birthday - 4/24

Happy Birthday to ~

RHP Javier Lozano (20)
Lozano was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of El Salvador in 2010 and last played for the DSL Astros in 2011.  In five innings pitched over 4 games, he was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP. As far as I know he is still in the Astros system.

OKC Manager Tony DeFrancesco (50)
Drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round in 1984, Tony spent several years in the Boston and Cincinnati minor league systems, but never made it to the bigs. After coaching in the Oakland system for several years, DeFrancesco helmed the Redhawks team for the first time in 2011. After spending the bulk of the 2012 season with OKC, he took over as Manager for the Astros for the final 41 games of the season going 16-25. This season he is once again managing the RedHawks.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Ivan Murrell (died October 8, 2006 at 63)
Signed by the Colt 45's in 1963 out of Panama, Murrell played in 54 games for the 45's and the Astros in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 before being selected by San Diego in the 1968 expansion draft.

RHP Todd Jones (45)
A first round draft pick by Houston in 1989, Jones played for the Astros from 1993 to 1996 before being included in this trade to Detroit (according to Baseball-Reference):

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigers for Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

He went on to play in 16 seasons for eight different teams. While with Houston, he was 18-12 with 39 saves in 194 games, and had a 3.27 ERA and a 1.330 WHIP. He was the AL saves leader and an All-Star in 2000 for Detroit.

CF Carlos Beltran (36)
Originally drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 1995, Beltran came to Houston in this trade:

June 24, 2004: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros. The Oakland Athletics sent Mark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Kansas City Royals. The Houston Astros sent Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. The Houston Astros sent John Buck and cash to the Kansas City Royals.

In 90 regular season games for Houston in 2004, he hit .258/.368/.559 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 58 RBI. In post-season play for Houston, he hit .435 in 12 games with eight home runs and 14 RBI.

There are many awards and superlatives associated with Beltran's career, but because of the way he left Houston, one of the first things that comes to my mind when thinking of him is a sign I saw in the stands during the 2005 World Series reading "How's the view from your couch, Beltran?"

Beltran is currently in his second year with St. Louis.

Happy Birthday - 4/24

RHP Javier Lozano (19)
Lozano was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of El Salvador in 2010 and first played for the DSL Astros in 2011.  In five innings pitched over 4 games, he was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP.

OKC Manager Tony DeFrancesco (49)
Drafted by the Red Sox in the ninth round in 1984, Tony spent several years in the Boston and Cincinnati minor league systems, but never made it to the bigs.  After coaching in the Oakland system for several years, DeFrancesco helmed the Redhawks team for the first time in 2011 with a 68-75 record.  The team has gotten off to a good start in his second season.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

OF Ivan Murrell (died October 8, 2006 at 63)
Signed by the Colt 45's in 1963 out of Panama, Murrell played in 54 games for the 45's and the Astros in 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 before being selected by San Diego in the 1968 expansion draft.

RHP Todd Jones (44)

A first round draft pick by Houston in 1989, Jones played for the Astros from 1993 to 1996 before being included in this trade to Detroit (according to Baseball-Reference):

December 10, 1996: Traded by the Houston Astros with Doug Brocail, Brian Hunter, Orlando Miller and cash to the Detroit Tigersfor Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Trever Miller, C.J. Nitkowski and Daryle Ward.

He went on to play in 16 seasons for eight different teams. While with Houston, he was 18-12 with 39 saves in 194 games, and had a 3.27 ERA and a 1.330 WHIP. He was the AL saves leader and an All-Star in 2000 for Detroit.

CF Carlos Beltran (35)
Originally drafted by Kansas City in the second round in 1995, Beltran came to Houston in this trade:

June 24, 2004: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros. The Oakland Athletics sentMark Teahen and Mike Wood to the Kansas City Royals. The Houston Astros sent Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. TheHouston Astros sent John Buck and cash to the Kansas City Royals.

In 90 regular season games for Houston in 2004, he hit .258/.368/.559 with 17 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 58 RBI. In post-season play for Houston, he hit .435 in 12 games with eight home runs and 14 RBI.

There are many awards and superlatives associated with Beltran's career, but I won't be listing them because of the way he left Houston (thanks to his agent Scott Boras).  But I will leave you with the one enduring image etched in my mind that I always think of when I think of Carlos Beltran - a sign in the stands during the 2005 World Series reading "How's the view from your couch Beltran?"