Cannon Ballers Announce Field Staff Full of New and Familiar Faces for 2024 Season

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Chicago White Sox have announced their Minor League player development staff for the 2024 season, selecting Patrick Leyland to lead the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for the second consecutive year.

Leyland and his returning staff come to Cannon City in pursuit of a follow-up to the best season of baseball at Atrium Health Ballpark. The Cannon Ballers team led by Leyland in the 2023 season turned in the best record in the Chicago White Sox organization across all levels.

Listed below is the entire 2024 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers field staff:

Manager: Patrick Leyland

Hitting Coach: Charlie Romero

Pitching Coach: Blake Hickman

Bench Coach: Daniel Millwee

Trainer: Chaerin Yeom

Performance Coach: Donovan Clark

Leyland makes his return to Kannapolis for a second season as manager, third as a member of the Cannon Ballers field staff and fifth overall within the White Sox player development staff. The son of soon-to-be Hall of Fame MLB manager Jim Leyland, Patrick was drafted in the 10th round in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. After a career of bouncing around in the minor leagues, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native got his start in coaching as a development coach at Class-A Delmarva in the Orioles organization. Leyland has a, 93-92, record in two seasons as a manager in the White Sox organization, including a, 67-64, record in 2023 with Kannapolis, the only above .500 record in Chicago’s farm system in that season.

After playing in two different seasons in a Cannon Ballers uniform, Millwee retired from his playing career in 2023 to pursue a role in coaching baseball. The Summerfield, North Carolina native played collegiate baseball at Arizona and Pitts Community College before landing closer to home at High Point. Millwee erupted in 2019 to earn a 30th round draft selection by the White Sox. The former backstop worked his way through the minors to eventually play a total of 17 games with Kannapolis, batting .208 with 10 hits, six RBI and nine hit-by-pitches.

Serving in the same role in 2021 and 2023, Romero brings wisdom and an expert knowledge in putting together strong at-bats. The La Romana, Dominican Republic native helped lead Kannapolis’ offense to finish first in the Carolina League in RBI (579) and second in home runs (95) in 2023. Known as being well loved in the White Sox organization, Romero served as the assistant hitting coach in 2019 with the Dominican Summer League White Sox, coaching in his native country before joining Kannapolis’ staff. Before becoming a coach, Romero played six years in the minor leagues within the Blue Jays and Angels organizations.

Back for his second season in the same role, Hickman will look to build upon what was a successful first season of professional coaching. Inheriting one of the youngest and one of the more highly touted pitching rotations in 2023 with Kannapolis, Hickman helped develop star prospects and household names of the White Sox organization by leading the pitching staff to league-high numbers. The Chicago native appeared in 17 games in 2017 for Kannapolis after graduating from both the White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) program and Simeon Career Academy in Chicago.

Yeom and Clark both join the Cannon Ballers for their first seasons in Kannapolis, with Yeom serving as the athletic trainer for the ACL White Sox in 2023. Clark makes his professional baseball debut with the Ballers this season, bringing along experience in speed and athleticism coaching as the owner of AIK Sports Performance Training in Indiana.

For the most up-to-date information regarding all things Cannon Ballers, fans can keep up with the team on social media, or as an email insider to receive exclusive updates and news. 2024 season tickets and a limited number of 10-Game mini plans are available by calling the Cannon Ballers at (704) 932-3267, or by visiting kcballers.com. Individual tickets for the 2024 season will be released shortly on a date to be announced.