TOLEDO, OH – The Detroit Tigers and Toledo Mud Hens announced today the staff who will be joining new skipper Gary Jones for the 2022 Toledo Mud Hens season, the 20th at Fifth Third Field.
Returning for his second season as pitching coach is Doug Bochtler, who helped guide the
TOLEDO, OH – The Detroit Tigers and Toledo Mud Hens announced today the staff who will be joining new skipper Gary Jones for the 2022 Toledo Mud Hens season, the 20th at Fifth Third Field.
Returning for his second season as pitching coach is Doug Bochtler, who helped guide the Mud Hens to a division title in 2021. Last year was his first year in the Detroit organization as a coach after spending five years with San Diego, which included being the Padres bullpen coach from 2016-2019. During his 15-year playing career, the 51-year-old pitched for ten different organizations, including 1998 with the Detroit Tigers. He spent six years pitching at the MLB level. He was originally a 1989 draft pick of the Montreal Expos and finished his MLB career with a 9-18 record with six career saves.
The bench coach is Tony Cappucilli, who comes to the Tigers organization from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last season he managed the Arizona Complex League Dodgers (record of 31-27) as part of his time with LA’s organization that began in 2017. Before managing the Dodgers this past year, the 41-year-old was a player development coach for the Dodgers. Prior to that he was with the University of New Mexico as an assistant in which he helped the Aggies to the NCAA Regionals in 2016 and two-time Mountain West Champs in 2015 and 2016.
Adam Melhuse will handle the hitting coach duties as he joins the Mud Hens after spending last season with the Tigers Double-A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves. This is his second season in the Tigers organization after spending a couple of years with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers organizations. With LA, Melhuse managed the Burlington Bees in 2016 and 2017 before becoming a hitting coach for the Oklahoma City Dodgers (2018) and Tulsa Drillers (2019), both in the LA Dodgers system. The 49-year-old had eight seasons in MLB as a player with 24 home runs, 98 RBI while hitting .234 as a player. His 311 career games came with four different teams that included Colorado, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland, and Texas.
Returning for his second season in Toledo and ninth in the Tigers organization is athletic trainer Jason Schwartzman. Also joining the staff is new strength coach Phil Hartt.
The Mud Hens open the 2022 season at Fifth Third Field against the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday, April 5.