Jirschele talks moving up MiLB managerial ladder

CHICAGO -- Justin Jirschele’s seventh season as a manager in the White Sox system features a move from Double-A Birmingham to his first stint at the helm of Triple-A Charlotte.

So, much like Minor League players do at this level, it makes sense for the highly regarded 32-year-old to think about coaching or managerial opportunities in the Majors while taking in knowledge through his current job.

“Any time you can be around the best of the best, whether it’s our front office in Chicago, our coaching staff at the Major League level, you know, it’s open ears,” Jirschele said during a Friday Zoom. “It’s learning how guys evaluate players, what they are doing between the lines with the players to get these guys better on a daily basis, the work they put in with these guys.

“Again, using my eyes, my ears. Slow to speak and quick to listen, right? Definitely anxious to get down there [to Arizona] with [White Sox manager] Pedro [Grifol] and his staff and the front office, and see how we are going to attack this thing at the Triple-A level as well as how they want things done. Definitely anxious to get going.”

Jirschele had 55 plate appearances with Charlotte during his four Minor League seasons with the White Sox before he retired as a player during the 2015 campaign and immediately moved into coaching. But his interest in life beyond the playing field began while watching his dad, Mike, who was a long-time Minor League manager and Kansas City’s third-base coach during its World Series runs in 2014 and '15.

“I was comfortable enough at a young age to pick his brain during games and after games and things like that. I was just always around it,” Jirschele said. “Even when I was playing, there'd be nights when I wasn't in the lineup, I'd manage along with the manager, whomever my manager would be.

“I’d be further down the dugout, just continuing to learn things that come up in the game, and think that if I was managing, I would maybe do this, or ‘Ooh, I like what he was doing there.’ Just keeping those things in your mental bank and continuing to learn. You're never going to be done learning in this game, regardless of what position you're in.”

Jirschele's third campaign with the Barons concluded with the White Sox Project Birmingham program, which brought a pool of prospects from Single-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem together with players on Birmingham’s roster for the rest of the season. Jirschele’s team-wide focus for Charlotte will be determined as Minor League Spring Training progresses.

“There’s certainly different attack angles,” Jirschele said. “You have guys that have been to the big leagues trying to get back, you have guys coming up through our system that are awfully close and then you have some guys who are back and forth.

“It’s just continuing to build those relationships, which is the same at any level, in my opinion. But now you’re one step away with these players. It’s the difference of case by case and player by player, and what they’re going through and their career path and where they’re at in their careers.”