When minor league camp kicks off in Scottsdale, some of the biggest names at the Giants' new facility will be on the coaching side. The Giants announced their player development and affiliate staffs on Thursday, and as always there's a healthy collection of #ForeverGiants, including two former big leaguers who will have prominent roles for the San Jose Giants.
Travis Ishikawa, the hero of the 2014 NLCS, will serve as the Low-A hitting coach after previously being a hitting coach in rookie ball. It's a return to San Jose for Ishikawa, who first played there in 2004 as a prospect. The pitching coach in San Jose will be Dan Runzler, who played in San Jose in 2009 and made 89 appearances in the big leagues for the Giants.
Pat Burrell will return to his role as a roving hitting instructor for the organization and Ryan Vogelsong remains a roving pitching instructor. The former Giants will travel to different affiliates throughout the minor league season -- which will not be delayed by the lockout -- to provide instruction.
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The Giants made some changes at their four full-season affiliates, although most of the names are familiar. Dave Brundage returns as manager of the Sacramento River Cats, with Garvin Alston and Damon Minor returning as his pitching and hitting coaches, respectively. Dennis Pelfrey has been moved from managing High-A Eugene to Double-A Richmond.
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Carlos Valderrama (Eugene) and Lipso Nava (San Jose) are the new managers in A-ball. Both were previously in the Giants organization.
There were no significant changes to the player development staff, which is run by Kyle Haines. While the lockout has kept the big league staff from gathering with players in Scottsdale, minor leaguers started working out together last month and camp will open Saturday.
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