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
