Meet Jake Hirst, the Yankees' new assistant hitting coach making major leap
Yankees' new assistant hitting coach Jake Hirst. Credit: Newsday/Anthony Rieber
TAMPA, Fla. — We have all read the stories about a top prospect’s first call-up to the major leagues.
How was he told? (Usually by his Triple-A manager.)
Who was the first person he called to tell the news? (Usually his mom.)
How much is he looking forward to that first time walking into Corporate Name Here Stadium as a big-leaguer? (A whole heck of a lot.)
It’s not only players who get to enjoy this moment. It happens to coaches, too, just with a lot less fanfare.
But it’s no less important for those coaches, for their families and for the organizations who want their player development success stories to not only be about the players who come through their systems but also about the coaches they develop in the minor leagues.
So meet Jake Hirst, a 30-year-old from Davenport, Iowa, who recently was promoted to Aaron Boone’s 2026 Yankees coaching staff as an assistant hitting coach.
Hirst, along with new Yankees first-base coach Dan Fiorito, are making the leap from the minors to the majors after working their way up the organizational ladder.
“It was one of those things,” Hirst said last week in his soon-to-be-vacated office at the Yankees’ minor-league complex, “where it didn’t feel quite real until Boonie called a couple days later.”
Hirst has worked with many of the Yankees’ current young hitters, from Ben Rice to Anthony Volpe to Austin Wells to Jasson Dominguez, plus top prospects Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.
“He’s really had a lot of success in our organization and has earned this opportunity,” Boone said last month. “I’m excited that we’ll be adding Jake to the staff, to our hitting group.”
Hirst joined the Yankees as a Gulf Coast League hitting coach in 2019, moved up to Class A Hudson Valley and then Double-A Somerset, and spent 2024 as assistant organization hitting coordinator before taking over as organization hitting coordinator in 2025.
It would be wrong to say that Hirst is getting called up to “fix” young hitters such as Volpe, Wells and Dominguez, all of whom struggled in 2025. But his familiarity with that trio, plus Rice, Jones, Lombard and other top Yankees hitting prospects, certainly didn’t hurt his chances.
“I think it definitely helps,” Hirst said. “I think whenever you have those relationships, whenever you have a track record with anybody, relationships are so important, right?
“The big thing is it’s just a familiar face. They don’t have to figure somebody else out. They don’t have to learn the habits of somebody new coming in, and the same goes for me. It gives me a little bit of confidence knowing that I have a relationship with Wells, Volpe, Rice, all those guys.”
That’s not to say Hirst will be working only with the young guys. The Yankees — as do many organizations nowadays — employ three hitting coaches. James Rowson is the lead guy and Casey Dykes is returning as an assistant. Hirst replaces 65-year-old Pat Roessler, whom the Yankees hope will remain with the organization in a different role.
“It’s not necessarily how I can help them, but I think how we as a staff can help them,” Hirst said. “I think that’s what J-Row [Rowson] does a really good job of is: ‘Hey, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.’ And maybe there’s a day where J-Row is going to be the best messenger for whoever for a certain topic. Or maybe there’s another day that Casey is, or maybe there’s a day where [Rowson says], ‘Hey, Jake, I know in the past you and Wells have talked about this. Go have that conversation with him, or work on it with him today.’
“Whether it’s the young guys or Aaron Judge, everybody’s kind of getting on the same page and making sure that, hey, this is the route we’re going to go with him and make sure that he’s performing on a night-to-night basis.”
Gone are the days when hitting coaches were old pals of the manager. The advice given to players now is a tad more detailed than “swing at strikes” or “hit ’em where they ain’t.”
Is that a good or bad thing? That’s a trick question. It doesn’t matter, because that’s how every organization does it today. So yes, the Yankees’ three hitting coaches have a total of zero games played in the major leagues, but they still are responsible for a roster full of All-Stars.
Hirst’s playing days ended at Central College, a Division III school in Iowa. He first thought about becoming a physical therapist, switched to strength and conditioning, and was coaching college and high school baseball and finishing his master’s degree in exercise philosophy in 2018 when then-Yankees hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson recommended him for a job with the organization.
To answer the questions posed at the top: It was Yankees director of player development Kevin Reese who told Hirst he was getting promoted to the majors. Hirst’s first call was to his wife. He’s really looking forward to Opening Day, which next season will be March 25 at San Francisco’s Oracle Park.
Just like a player making his debut, Hirst will be wearing a big-league uniform for the first time in an MLB game that counts. He’ll line up on the baseline for pregame introductions. He’ll probably get a polite round of applause (if he’s noticed at all).
But Hirst will know he made it. And he’ll know his work has just begun.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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