The Lynchburg Hillcats Announce 2023 Coaching Staff

The Lynchburg Hillcats, in conjunction with the Cleveland Guardians, have announced their coaching staff for the 2023 season.

The Hillcats will be led at the helm by a new manager, Jordan Smith. Last season, Smith served as the manager for the Arizona Complex League team. Prior to that, he spent 2019 and 2021 in Lake County as the bench coach. His staff will consist of pitching coach Tony Arnold, hitting coach Ordomar Valdez, and Yan Rivera as the bench coach. Franklin Sammons is returning for a second season as the athletic trainer.

Smith, a recent graduate of St. Cloud State University, will step into his first full-season league managerial stint. In his playing career, he was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft from St. Cloud State. Smith began his career in Mahoning Valley where he hit .300. The following year, he would spend the season in Lake County, hitting .316 with nine home runs and 74 runs batted in.

Smith would spend a total of eight years in minor league baseball, making it as high as Triple-A before his coaching career began. This will be his fifth-year coaching in the Guardians organization.

Tony Arnold spent last season alongside Smith as the pitching coach for the Arizona Complex League team. Arnold graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in physical education in 1981. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the tenth round of the 1981 draft before spending several seasons in the minors with both the Orioles and the Dodgers. He would crack the majors in 1986 and 1987 with Baltimore, posting a 5.08 ERA in 38 appearances.

Upon retiring in 1990, he began as a minor league pitching coach with the Dodgers before moving onto Cleveland in 1992. Since then, he has coached at every level of minor league baseball, including several stops in Lynchburg in 2015, 2018, and 2021.

Ordomar Valdez served as the hitting coach for the Guardians Dominican Summer League Blue team last season. Valdez began his time with Cleveland in 2011 when he signed as an infielder with the organization out of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He would eventually make it as high as Triple-A, before spending a few seasons internationally and in independent baseball.

Valdez last season playing came during the 2017 season with the Pittsburg Diamonds of the Pacific Association. Last season, his DSL team hit .246 with 12 home runs and 248 RBI. They would finish with a record of 31-29.

Yan Rivera spent last season as the bench coach for the Lake County Captains, who made it all the way to the championship series before losing in three games. Rivera is one of the youngest coaches in the Guardians organization, having graduated from La Salle University in 2018 with a degree in psychology. He was a two-time captain for the Explorers, and in his senior season, Rivera had a slash line of .286/.394/.429.

Rivera is the son of former major league infielder Luis Rivera. His father served as the inaugural skipper for the Lake County Captains in 2003. He spent 11 seasons in major league baseball with stops in Montreal, Boston, New York, Houston, and Kansas City.

Franklin Sammons is the only returner to Lynchburg from last-year’s coaching staff. With Sammons as the athletic trainer, the Hillcats were able to play their way to the Carolina League Championship series, losing in two games to the Charleston RiverDogs. Sammons has spent his entire career with the Guardians organization after interning with Cleveland while pursuing a degree in athletic training from Manchester University. Upon graduation, he was hired as a full-time Minor League Athletic Trainer by the Guardians.

The Hillcats will look to continue where they left off last season under the new coaching staff. Last season saw the team make their first Carolina League Championship series since 2017.

The Hillcats will open their season on April 7th against the Fredericksburg Nationals before returning for their home opener on April 11th against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Contact the ticket office at (434) 528-1144 or visit lynchburg-hillcats.com for all ticketing information.