Washington Nationals Announce FredNats 2020 Coaching Staff

FREDERICKSBURG, VA- The Washington Nationals have announced the coaching staff for the Fredericksburg Nationals inaugural 2020 season. The FredNats will be reunited with former Potomac Nationals Manager Tripp Keister, Hitting Coach Luis Ordaz, Athletic Trainer Don Neidig, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Shane Hill. The FredNats will be welcoming Justin Lord in his first year as their Pitching Coach.

Keister is entering his seventh consecutive season as Manager with the franchise, and has managed 846 games, the most in franchise history with 423 regular season wins. Keister has previously managed two other levels in Washington's system, the Class-A Hagerstown Suns, and the Gulf Coast League Nationals. He also played four seasons in the New York Mets' Minor League system.
Ordaz will enter into his fifth consecutive season with the franchise and 10th season in the minor league system as Hitting Coach for the FredNats. Ordaz led the Potomac Nationals to the second-best batting average in the Carolina League during the 2019 season. Ordaz made 206 appearances at the Major League level between 1997 and 2006, with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
This will be Neidig's third season with the franchise as the team's Athletic Trainer. Neidig joined the Potomac Nationals in 2017 after spending four seasons as the Athletic Trainer for the Hagerstown Suns. 
Hill is entering his second season with the franchise as the Strength and Conditioning Coach. This will be Hill's fourth season in the Washington Nationals system after previously acting as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Short-Season Single-A Auburn Doubledays in 2017 and Class-A Hagerstown Suns in 2018.
Newcomer Justin Lord will serve as the Pitching Coach for the Fredericksburg Nationals. Lord joins the Nationals' system after seven seasons in the Baltimore Orioles' minor league system and spent the 2019 season as the Pitching Coach for the Class-A Frederick Keys. 
Lord was previously signed by the Kansas City Royals as a non-drafted free agent out of Florida State in 2001. He went on to play three professional seasons in the Royals' and Pittsburgh Pirates' systems, including stops in the Carolina League for the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2003 and the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2004.
The Fredericksburg Nationals' 2020 season begins on April 9th against the Down East Wood Ducks (Texas Rangers) at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina. The opening day for the FredNats new ballpark will be on Thursday, April 23rd. 
The Fredericksburg Nationals are set to begin Carolina League play in 2020 at a brand new, state of the art stadium facility, located at Celebrate Virginia South on Carl D. Silver Parkway near the Fredericksburg Expo & Convention Center in Fredericksburg, VA. Stay up to date with the progress of the new ballpark facility and the team online at www.frednats.com and follow the Fredericksburg Nationals on Facebook (@FXBGNats), on Twitter (@FXBGNats), and on Instagram (@FXBGNats).