Orozco to Coach in Arizona Fall League
PEORIA, IL - Peoria Chiefs pitching coach Dernier Orozco was announced as the St. Louis Cardinals representative to coach in the prestigious Arizona Fall League when coaching assignments were announced on Friday. Orozco will work with the Glendale Desert Dogs which will include prospects from the Cardinals, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity to work with the pitchers in the Fall League and looking forward to the experience," said Orozco, in his second year as the Chiefs pitching coach.
The fall league runs from October 11 to November 19 with players to be announced in August. The Desert Dogs will be managed by former Major League outfielder Aaron Rowand who is representing the Chicago White Sox. In addition to Orozco, Greg Sabat of the Dodgers and Sam Narron of the Nationals will serves as pitching coaches while Darryl Robinson of the Astros will be the hitting coach. Former Chiefs athletic trainer Shane Nelson (2012) will represent the Chicago Cubs with the Mesa Solar Sox and former Chiefs training intern Dustin Vissering will represent the Texas Rangers with the Surprise Saguaros.
Orozco has helped his team to the post-season four years in a row in the Cardinals organization, two with State College in the New York-Penn League and two with the Chiefs. In 2015 his pitching staff led the MWL and set a franchise record with 1149 strikeouts while posting the 4th best ERA in the league at 3.32. The 2015 Chiefs also racked up the second most shutouts in the league with 15, falling just short of the team record.
In 2014 the State College Spikes won the NYPL Championship and finished second in the league as a pitching staff with a 2.97 ERA. The Spikes were also third in strikeouts, second in saves, second in shutouts and allowed the third least amount of home runs. In 2013 the Spikes made it to the NYPL Finals with a league-best 2.80 ERA under Orozco's leadership.
"He is an outstanding representative for the Cardinals and it will be a great experience for him and for the players that he will be working with," said Chiefs manager Joe Kruzel, who coached in the AFL in 2012. "It is one of the most prestigious leagues in baseball and an opportunity for Dernier to go out and show what he is capable of doing. It is quite an honor for him and I'm excited and happy for him."
A native of Venezuela, the 34-year-old has coached at four different levels in 10 seasons in the Cardinals organization. From 2006-2008 he coached with the Cardinals in the Venezuelan Summer League and returned to the VSL in 2010. In 2009 and 2011 he coached the Gulf Coast League Cardinals before moving up to Dann Bilardello's Batavia staff in 2012. Orozco pitched six seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization. He posted an ERA of 1.88 in the VSL in 2002 and went 4-2 in 14 games for the 2003 GCL Red Sox.