The Dodgers are definitely taking a new approach to their minor league player development system. It’s too early to discern if it is new and improved, but one expects that it may well be. Among other things going on in their minor league baseball program, an emphasis had been made to hire a younger generation of coaches. For instance, when the teams take the field in the upcoming season, three new coaches come on board as 27-year-old leaders.

Jeremy Rodriguez

Jeremy Rodriguez: Manager – Great Lakes Loons

Jeremy Rodriguez, 27, takes over as the manager of the Great Lakes Loons becoming the Loons fifth manager in five years. He succeeds Gil Velazquez who guided the Loons to their improbable Midwest League championship in 2016.

The former catcher was born in Burbank, California and graduated from Crespi Carmelite High School in neighboring Encino.

He was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 16th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of the Bakersfield campus of California State University.

Rodriguez played for five seasons within the Padres’ organization hitting .235 over 175 games. His last three seasons were all with the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Advanced Single A California League.

He does not come to the Dodgers without any managing experience having managed the Dominican Summer League Padres for the past two seasons.

Steve Douglas of Hot Stove Baseball Talk met Jeremy Rodriguez on the back fields of Camelback Ranch and wrote: “I was fortunate enough to speak with Jeremy Rodriguez and Mark Kertenian, two of the most knowledgeable baseball minds that you will ever meet, and two of the nicest human beings as well. The Dodgers organization is not only scouting players, they scout instructors as well.”

Rodriguez will share his duties with returning fourth coach Fumi Ishibashi and hitting coach Aaron Bates who enters his third year in the Dodgers organization, but first with the Loons.

Connor McGuiness: Pitching Coach – Great Lakes Loons

Connor McGuinness

Also new to the Loons is 27-year-old pitching coach Connor McGuiness who joins the Loons after serving as pitching coach with his alma mater, Emory University, for three seasons and last season with the Catholic University of America. During his stint at Emory University, he helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back NCAA Division III College World Series appearances.

This might help explain how Connor McGuiness came out of the woodwork to become part of the Dodgers organization. That is, his data analysis expertise and his leadership ability.

While at Emory, McGuiness started his own company, Slidestep Consulting, which specializes in research and data analysis, moving the business to Arlington, Virginia after graduation. Connor also serves as a statistical analyst for McNamara Baseball Group, helping develop data necessary for contract negotiations.

McGuiness was welcomed back to Emory in 2013 with open arms: “We are extremely pleased to bring Connor back to Emory as a part of our coaching staff,” said Emory Head Coach Mike Twardoski. “As a player, we always considered him a coach on the field due to his tremendous leadership ability. Now, as our pitching coach, I am confident he will continue to raise the level of our entire pitching staff.”

Austin Chubb

Austin Chubb: Manager – Dominican Summer League Dodgers 2

Former catcher Austin Chubb, 27, will take over as manager of the Dominican Summer League Dodgers 2 for the 2017 season. In doing so he becomes the first American born manager in the history of the famous Campo Las Palmas.

Chubb was born in Lake Mary, Florida and attended high school in his home town. Following his graduation, he attended State College of Florida in Bradenton, Florida playing for the Manatees for two years. He then transferred to Florida Southern University for his junior and senior years.

As a junior, he hit .295 with five home runs and 26 RBI. In his senior year, Chubb hit .291 with eight home runs and 33 RBI. He had a team high 17 doubles.

Following his senior year with the Moccasins, he was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 21st round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Chubb had a four-year minor league career in which he played 91 games and hit .213. On January 6, 2015, he was released by the Nationals and signed by the Dodgers on January 23. Chubb played only 10 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2016 while spending four stints on the 7-DL list which limited his playing time to that hand full of games.

Chubb elected free agency following the 2015 season and was subsequently signed as the hitting coach for the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League.

One can only wonder what it was, or is, that has so quickly entrenched Chubb in the coaching ranks. Perhaps this tweet by Dodgers Director of Player Development, Gabe Kapler, on Chubb’s one game with the Great Lakes Loons on May 15, 2015 helps answer the question.

“So proud of Austin Chubb. Watching him hit for the Great Lakes Loons is inspiring. Grinder, great teammate, valued in our organization.”

Justin Viele: Hitting Coach – Ogden Raptors

Justin Viele

Not to be forgotten is Justin Viele, the 2017 hitting coach for the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League. He does not qualify as a 27-year-old instructor as he will not turn 27 until this coming November.

Viele is a native of Yorba Linda, California, and attended high school at Esperanza High School in neighboring Anaheim. Following his graduation from high school he played four years as a shortstop for the Broncos at Santa Clara University which is located in the southern part of the Bay Area.

Viele played 186 games with the Broncos, and beginning in his freshman year he went on to make 161 consecutive starts, primarily as a shortstop. In his senior year the 5’11”/185-pound right-handed hitting spark plug led the team with 32 runs scored, 28 walks and 14 extra-base hits, along with 17 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. He also led the team by being hit by pitches 11 times. He completed his degree at Santa Clara graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

During the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, Viele waited a long time to hear his name called, finally being selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 37th round with the 1,119th overall selection. Regardless of where he was drafted, his head coach at Santa Clara was more than a little excited that he had been rewarded for his efforts, both on and off the field at Santa Clara.

“I’m excited for Justin and proud of him for the work he put in to earn this opportunity,” said Bronco head coach Dan O’Brien. “He’s everything you can ask for in a ballplayer. He’s a fierce competitor, a tireless worker, a loyal teammate and a flat-out winner. Ballplayers like Justin deserve to play this timeless game forever.”

Viele’s minor league career totaled a short two-year stint in the Orioles organization. In 126 games, none above the Class-A level, he hit .211 with a .333 OBP.

Following the 2014 season, he became an assistant coach – at age 24 – with the Frederick Keys, a Class-A affiliate of the Orioles. As a bit of a side note, former Dodger great Wally Moon served as head coach of the Keys during the 1990 and 1991 seasons and led the team to a league championship in 1990.

Viele’s tenure with the Keys lasted but one season, upon which he returned to his Alma Mater at Santa Clara University as an assistant coach. Coach Dan O’Brien again expressed his excitement when Viele for a second time signed on with the Broncos.

“It’s a great day to be a Bronco! What a huge get for the program. Justin is everything Bronco baseball represents and then some,” O’Brien said. “On top of that, his baseball IQ is through the roof. He is truly special, and our ballplayers are incredibly lucky to be around a guy who, day in and day out, consistently does things the right way.”

One has to expect that coach O’Brien was disappointed to lose Justin Viele as a coach with the Santa Clara Broncos, but also delighted that his prodigy has already cracked the professional ranks as a hitting instructor.