2022 Carolina Mudcats Coaching Staff

Victor Estevez, 33, enters his 10th season in the Brewers organization and first as manager at Class-A Carolina. He spent the previous six seasons managing the Rookie DSL Brewers and the past two seasons as the organization's DSL field coordinator.

He began his coaching career as the infield coach with the DSL Brewers (2013-15) before compiling a 161-183 (.468) record in six seasons as manager from 2016-21. He managed Vaqueros de Montería to a 22-14 (.611) record and a runner-up finish in the Colombian League in the winter of 2021-22.

Estevez, a former infielder, played four seasons (2007-10) of professional baseball in the Arizona Diamondbacks system. He is the cousin of Enrique Cruz, who played for the Brewers in 2003. Estevez earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Universidad del Caribe in 2020.

Drew Thomas, 46, enters his first season in the Brewers organization after 15 seasons (2007-21) at Coastal Carolina University, including the past 10 as pitching coach of the Chanticleers.

The Chanticleers led their conference in ERA six times in Thomas' 10 seasons as pitching coach and won the NCAA College World Series in 2016.

He spent 2003-06 coaching at IMG Academy in Florida. Thomas pitched in the San Diego Padres organization in 1998 and with the Canton Crocodiles of the independent Frontier League in 1999-00.

Ken Joyce, 57, enters his first season in the Brewers organization after spending 2021 as the hitting coach with the West Virginia Power of the independent Atlantic League.

Joyce was a hitting coach in the New York Yankees organization from 2017-20, including at Double-A Trenton (2020), Class-A Staten Island (2018-19) and Class-A Charleston (2017). He served as a hitting coach in the San Francisco Giants system from 2010-16 with Double-A Richmond (2011-16) and Triple-A Fresno (2010). Joyce held several roles in the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 2002-09, managing Class-A Charleston (2004) and Class-A Lansing (2005-06) and working as hitting coach with Rookie Medicine Hat (2002), Double-A New Haven (2003), Double-A New Hampshire (2007-08) and Triple-A Las Vegas (2009).

He worked in the Miami Marlins organization as the bullpen coach at Double-A Portland from 1994-95 before becoming Portland's hitting coach in 1996. He was the hitting coach at Class-A Utica in 1997 before managing the club from 1998-99.

Jorge Ortega, 28, begins his third season as a coach in the Brewers organization. He was originally signed by the Brewers in 2011 as a non-drafted free agent. Ortega went on to pitch eight seasons in the Milwaukee farm system from 2011 through 2018. He appeared in eight games and made six starts for the Mudcats during what his final season as a player in 2018. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Ortega was a mid and post-season All-Star in 2015 with the High-A Brevard County Manatees.

Arroyo enters his first year with Carolina, but his seventh year overall in the Brewers organization.

Jonah Mergen begins his sixth straight year with the Mudcats and 12th overall in the Milwaukee organization. A native of McFarland, WI, Mergen has also worked with the Greeneville Astros and in the strength and conditioning departments at NC State University, UW-La Crosse and the National Strength and Conditioning Association World Headquarters. He first graduated from St. Ambrose University with a dual degree in exercise science and Spanish in 2007, before receiving his master’s from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in human performance in 2009.