Hillcats’ coaches for 2010 season announced

With a new organization comes new managerial blood for the Lynchburg Hillcats.

The Cincinnati Reds, the new parent club for the Lynchburg franchise, have assigned longtime minor-league manager Pat Kelly to Lynchburg for the 2010 season, where he’ll become the 16th manager in Hillcats history.

Kelly was the manager of the rookie-league Gulf Coast League Reds last season. Rigo Beltran (pitching coach) and Tony Jaramillo (hitting coach) round out the Hillcats coaching staff. Both were with the Dayton Dragons, the Reds’ low-A affiliate in the Midwest League, last season.

Kelly replaces P.J. Forbes, who in his one year in Lynchburg guided the Hillcats to the Mills Cup championship. Lynchburg swept Salem 3-0 in September to capture the Carolina League title.

Also, the Reds assigned Dale Nitzel to Lynchburg to serve as the Hillcats’ athletic trainer, replacing Bryan Housand.

Kelly was a third-round draft pick in the 1973 amateur draft and reached the majors in 1980 with the Toronto Blue Jays. His managerial experience is extensive. Before landing in the GCL, he managed Triple-A clubs in Richmond (2003-05), Syracuse (1999-2000) and Ottawa (1997-98). Other Triple-A stops for Kelly were in Indianapolis and Las Vegas.

Kelly has never managed in the eight-team Carolina League. In 2006, after his stint in Richmond ended, he remained in the Atlanta organization as a professional scout. He joined the Reds in 2007 and briefly served as Cincinnati’s big-league bench coach in 2007 under interim manager Pete Mackanin.

Kelly has spent 21 years managing in the minors for 15 different teams.

Beltran spent parts of five seasons pitching in the majors. Jaramillo played professionally from 1998-2003 and spent three years in the Texas Rangers system. Before joining the Reds in 2007, he spent time coaching in the Detroit Tigers’ system.