Not long after the Orioles promoted Double-A hitting coach Ryan Fuller to their major league staff, the prospect who offered perhaps the highest praise of him wasn’t one of the hitters he had successfully trained in Baltimore’s system, but a pitcher.
“[Fuller] is a hitting coach that makes just as much of an impact on pitchers as he does position players,” Orioles No. 2 prospect Grayson Rodriguez tweeted. “Can’t count how many conversations we’ve had about what hitters are trying to do or what they’re looking for in certain counts. Somebody who makes everyone better.”
That ability, Orioles director of player development Matt Blood said, isn’t unique to Fuller when it comes to the coaches Baltimore has added to its system in recent years. The organization announced its full minor league coaching and development staffs Wednesday, and in Blood’s eyes, any of those included would be willing to step beyond their role to help an Orioles prospect however they could.
“That’s what occurs organically when you have people who are humble and want to collaborate,” Blood said earlier this month. “They’re not afraid to have their toes stepped on. They’re actually wanting other people’s help and advice. Doesn’t matter where it comes from. If a hitting coach can help a pitching coach or a pitcher with something, then by all means, please help, and vice versa. That’s just sort of the culture that our coaches have created is one of we’re all on the same team.
“That’s pretty much the culture across the board. You’ve probably heard us say before, ‘humility, growth mindset and collaboration.’ That’s kind of what we live and breathe.”
Those three traits — a lack of ego, a desire to improve and a willingness to work together — were targeted as the Orioles built their staffs at each affiliate, in addition to the baseball-related skills needed to develop players once the fourth full season of Baltimore’s rebuild begins. Fuller wasn’t the only coach in the system to receive a promotion, with numerous coaches moving up from one affiliate to the next in the same way the Orioles are advancing the prospects they work with.
Beyond additional strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers for their Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League teams, the staffs at individual affiliates aren’t all that different from the 2021 editions in terms of size, but the Orioles’ player development operation as a whole has grown. In 2021, the team’s news release announcing the minor league coaches noted 15 staff members working under Blood and director of minor league operations Kent Qualls in player development roles. The 2022 announcement featured 25 such roles, with new positions including player development analysts, an international medical coordinator, and various responsibilities in an expanded strength and performance department including a dietician and biomechanist.