Detroit Tigers promote Ryan Garko to assistant GM, add new VP of baseball analytics
The Detroit Tigers announced two front-office promotions and one hiring in the analytics department on Thursday.
Ryan Garko was promoted from vice president of player development to the assistant general manager. Georgia Giblin was promoted to vice president of baseball performance science after previously serving in a similar role as the director of performance science. The Tigers also hired Andrew Thomas, who worked as a senior director of data science at SportsMEDIA Technology Corp. as the vice president of baseball analytics.
The team also announced that Scott Bream, the vice president of player personnel, moved to a role as a senior advisor to the president and general manager with a role focused on player evaluation and advising senior leadership.
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“Creating a culture of development in which players at all levels can grow and improve is one of our foundational goals,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said in a statement. “The work of Gark and Georgia, along with many others, over the past few years helped make that culture of development a reality. These well-deserved promotions will amplify their voices and influence, helping players throughout our organization get the most out of their abilities.
"We also welcome Andrew, who comes to us with impressive technical skills, experience teaching at multiple academic institutions, and a terrific reputation within the sports industry. I’m confident he will be a great thought partner and leader for our talented analytics group.”
Garko is in his fourth season with the Tigers after being hired as the vice president of player development in Sept. 2021. Former general manager Al Avila hired him and Garko now works under Harris and general manager Jeff Greenberg in the front office. Garko joins Sam Menzin, Rob Metzler and Jay Sartori as the Tigers' assistant GMs.
In an interview with the Free Press earlier in May, Garko, who played catcher in college and the minor leagues before switching to first base in the MLB, detailed his philosophy when it comes to player development and where the Tigers have improved during his time, from the staff to individualized plans for each player.
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Giblin, who works out of the TigerTown Complex in Lakeland, will now be the vice president of performance science after serving as the director since she was hired in 2019. Giblin uses advanced technology and team data to maximize player development and support their health. In her role as director of performance science, Giblin's duties included creating baseline assessments for hitting and pitching, giving feedback to players and using technology such as Hawk-Eye tracking systems to understand the players better.
Giblin joined the Tigers as a post-doctoral fellow at Michigan through a partnership, where she was completing her education after receiving a doctorate degree in biomechanics and skill acquisition from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. She received the organization's 2021 Dwight Lowry Award which is awarded to the top player development person of the year each season.
Thomas joins the Tigers' analytics department after working as a senior director of data science for the last four and a half years for SMT, a sports technology company that focuses on combining data and video for statistical analysis, player tracking and predictive data, according to its website. Thomas brings experience advising pro sports teams, including eight years as an MLB consultant for "multiple" MLB teams and the Lead Hockey Researcher for the Minnesota Wild from 2016-19.
Thomas was a college professor at Carnegie Mellon (2009-14) and Florida (2015). He has a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and a master's and doctorate degree from Harvard in statistics.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers promote Ryan Garko, hire new VP of baseball analytics
