Jirschele was announced as the Great Falls Voyagers hitting coach

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – Former Rafters player and UW-Stevens Point graduate Justin Jirschele, son of Kansas City Royals first base coach Mike Jirschele, will follow in his father’s footsteps and join the coaching ranks as the hitting coach for the Great Falls Voyagers.

Jirschele, a Clintonville, Wis. native, played for the Rafters in 2010 and 2011. In 82 game for Wisconsin Rapids, Jirschele tallied 64 hits, including six doubles, scored 29 runs and knocked in 21 RBIs.

Following his time with the Rafters, Jirschele was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox. He started his professional baseball career with the White Sox Rookie League team, the Great Falls Voyagers. Over four seasons of pro ball, Jirschele played at all five levels of the White Sox minor league affiliates, reaching the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in 2014 and briefly in 2015.

This past May, after being released by the Double-A Birmingham Barons, 25-year-old Jirschele retired before being hired to be the Voyagers hitting coach. Great Falls, a member of the Pioneer League, started their season on Thursday, June 20, with a 6-5 loss to the Billings Mustangs.

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.