Grudzielanek Returning as Manager in 2019
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- Mark Grudzielanek, who managed the Charlotte Knights in each of the past two seasons, will return to Uptown Charlotte to lead the club for a third consecutive season in 2019. Grudzielanek's field staff will consist of returnees Steve McCatty (pitching coach), and Shawn Powell (strength and
(UPTOWN CHARLOTTE, NC) -- Mark Grudzielanek, who managed the Charlotte Knights in each of the past two seasons, will return to Uptown Charlotte to lead the club for a third consecutive season in 2019. Grudzielanek's field staff will consist of returnees Steve McCatty (pitching coach), and Shawn Powell (strength and conditioning coach), as well as newcomers Frank Menechino (hitting coach), Guillermo Quiroz (coach), and Josh Fallin (head athletic trainer).
A 15-year major league veteran, Grudzielanek is set to enter his third season in the Chicago White Sox organization and fourth overall as a minor league manager in 2019. In two seasons at the helm of the Knights (2017-18), Grudzielanek has compiled a 125-156 record. Before joining the White Sox organization in 2017, the Milwaukee, WI native guided the Kane County Cougars (Single-A) to an 84-54 record and a postseason berth in 2015. In 2016, he served as an assistant coordinator in Arizona's system.
Originally selected by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round of the 1991 amateur draft, Grudzielanak played for six teams over his illustrious big league career, including the Expos (1995-98), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2002), Chicago Cubs (2003-2004), St. Louis Cardinals (2005), Kansas City Royals (2006-2008), and Cleveland Indians (2010). In 1,802 major league games, he compiled a .289 batting average with 2,040 hits, 391 doubles, 90 home runs, 640 RBIs, and 133 stolen bases. He was a National League All-Star in 1996 and a Rawlings Gold Glove award-winner at second base with Kansas City in 2006.
The 2019 season will mark McCatty's third straight with the Knights as pitching coach. A nine-year major league veteran, he compiled a 63-63 career record and a 3.99 career ERA in 221 games pitched during his entire career with the Oakland A's. In 1981, the Detroit, MI native finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting after posting a 14-7 record and a 2.33 ERA. He led the league that season in ERA and shutouts (4), while accumulating a remarkable 16 complete games. Prior to his time with the Knights, McCatty served eight seasons as a major league pitching coach for Oakland (2002) and Washington (2009-2015).
Menechino, a seven-year major league veteran, will enter his first season in the White Sox system in 2019. A native of Staten Island, NY, Menechino spent the past five seasons with the Miami Marlins as hitting coach (2014-18). Originally selected by the White Sox in the 1993 amateur draft, Menechino appeared in 449 big league games over his career with Oakland (1999-2004) and Toronto (2004-05). He hit .284 with 83 home runs and 476 RBIs over parts of 12 minor league seasons.
Quiroz, 37, will embark on his second season in Chicago's organization and first with the Knights in 2019. Last season, the Maracaibo, VZ native made his coaching debut with the Winston-Salem Dash (High-A) following his retirement as a player. Quiroz appeared in parts of 10 major league seasons with Toronto (2004-05), Seattle (2006, 2009-10), Texas (2007), Baltimore (2008), Boston (2012), and San Francisco (2013-14). A member of San Francisco's 2004 World Series championship team, Quiroz appeared in a total of 148 games over the course of his big league career.
Fallin is set to begin his first season with the Knights and 21st overall in the White Sox system in 2019. Last season, the New Mexico State University product completed his 16th overall campaign as the head athletic trainer for Winston-Salem. A native of Abilene, TX, Fallin is a three-time Carolina League Trainer of the Year. He also earned Southern League Athletic Trainer of the Year honors in 2012.
Powell, a native of Brighton, IL, will enter his eighth season in Chicago's system in 2019 and fourth straight with the Knights. Before spending the 2016 season with Charlotte, the Western Illinois University product spent the previous two seasons as the strength and conditioning coach in Winston-Salem. Before that, he spent time in the same capacity with Birmingham (2013-14). Powell has also worked for the NBA's Toronto Raptors as a strength and conditioning consultant (2005-05), and the New York Yankees as a strength and conditioning coach (1989-99).
2019 Charlotte Knights Field Staff:
Manager: Mark Grudzielanek
Pitching Coach: Steve McCatty
Hitting Coach: Frank Menechino
Coach: Guillermo Quiroz
Athletic Trainer: Josh Fallin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Shawn Powell
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between