Kernels Announce 2022 Coaching Staff

2022 Cedar Rapids Kernels Coaching Staff Announced

Cedar Rapids, IA – The Minnesota Twins have released their minor league coaching assignments for 2022.

Brian Dinkelman returns as manager at Advanced Single-A Cedar Rapids after a successful 2021 campaign in which the Kernels finished 67-53, securing a spot in the High-A Central Championship Series coming up one game short of winning the championship.

Manager, Brian Dinkelman says “I’m looking forward to another exciting season of baseball in Cedar Rapids. I’m excited to be back as manager of the Kernels and the opportunity to play in front of the home crowd. It should be another great season at the ballpark.”

The Kernels hitting coaches for 2022 are Jairo Rodriguez and Shawn Schlechter. Rodriguez returns to the Kernels and will enter his 15th year in the Twins organization as a minor league player or coach. Schlechter, a Minnesota native, joins the Kernels in 2022 after spending the 2021 season at the Gulf Coast Twins.

Mark Moriarty and Richard Salazar will both be returning to Cedar Rapids in 2022 and serve as the club’s pitching coaches. ­Moriarty, who was hired by the Twins as the GCL pitching coach prior to 2020, previously served as the head coach for the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. Salazar joined the Kernels in 2021 after spending 2019 with Rookie Elizabethton.

Jake Needham comes to Cedar Rapids in 2022 as the Strength Coach. In 2022, the Kernels will have two athletic trainers to support them. Lead ATC will be Matt Smith and Assistant ATC will be *Randy Yang. *

Comments from Kernels General Manager, Scott Wilson, “I am very excited to have nearly the entire coaching staff back from last year. These are the coaches that took us to game 5 of the playoffs, after a year off. They are very competitive and great with our fans. We are lucky to have this quality staff, with a couple of new names, back for another year. Bring on April 8th!”

The Kernels Opening Night for 2022 is Friday, April 8th at 6:35 PM vs. Beloit. Our full promotional schedule with theme nights and daily specials will be released at a later date. Single-game tickets will go on sale on March 14th at 10 am.

To keep up to date on information regarding the Kernels 2022 season please visit www.kernels.com or follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds and subscribe to our Kernels email newsletter.