Colorado Rockies Announce Grizzlies 2021 Minor League Staff

Fresno, CA - Earlier this morning the Colorado Rockies announced the Fresno Grizzlies’ Minor League Staff for the upcoming season. Steve Soliz will act as Supervisor of Development while Robinson Cancel will be the Manager with the assistance of Hitting Coach Nic Wilson, Pitching Coach Mark Brewer, and Trainer Coy Coker.

Steve Soliz joined the Rockies organization in 2019 while managing the short-season Boise Hawks. Soliz, who was scheduled to serve as the Supervisor of Development in 2020 for the Lancaster JetHawks, comes to Fresno with a wealth of experience. After playing professionally from 1993-2000, he spent 16 years with the Los Angeles Angels including time as both the Bullpen Coach and Catching Coach.

Robinson Cancel will be the 13th manager in Fresno Grizzlies history, succeeding Randy Knorr who managed the team in 2019. Cancel, a former catcher, last managed in the minors in 2019 with the former Low-A affiliate of the Rockies, the Asheville Tourists. Before becoming a manager, Cancel, a native of Puerto Rico, made his Major League debut as a catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers in September of 1999.

Pitching Coach Mark Brewer has been with the Rockies organization since 2014 and worked in Asheville with Robinson Cancel for the 2019 season. Having held a variety of Pitching Coach positions over the past 30 years including in Latin America, Brewer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the ballclub coming into the 2021 season.

Hitting Coach Nic Wilson comes into Fresno embarking on his first season in Minor League Baseball. Scheduled to be the Hitting Coach for the short-season Boise Hawks last season, Wilson enters the season having been an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University in 2019. Wilson also played professionally from 2014-2018.

“The vast amount of baseball-knowledge and experience on the coaching staff will be great for not only the players, but for Fresno as a whole,” said Grizzlies President Derek Franks. “I can say with the utmost certainty that the tradition of the game’s next stars being Farm Grown right here in the Central Valley will continue for years to come.”

As announced last week, the Grizzlies open the season on the road against the San Jose Giants on May 4th before returning to Chukchansi Park the next week to face off against the Visalia Rawhide. The team’s home schedule features 60 games including 4th of July. The Grizzlies will formally welcome the Colorado Rockies to Fresno tomorrow at 9:45am with a virtual press conference that can be streamed on Facebook Live.

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ABOUT THE FRESNO GRIZZLIES

The Fresno Grizzlies are the Low-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team plays at Chukchansi Park in Downtown Fresno, which is also a year-round community venue, hosting a myriad of other special events beyond Grizzlies' games, such as concerts, festivals, high school baseball and over 100 non-profit community events every year. The Grizzlies enter the 2021 season - their 24th year in Fresno - with a new affiliation and classification but with the same family-friendly and entertaining atmosphere fans have come to expect from the team.