Dan Jaffe

After on season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach, Dan Jaffe enters the 2024 campaign as the Sun Devil Baseball Director of Baseball Operations and Analytics. In his new role, Jaffe will oversee day-to-day operations of the baseball program and take a leading role in the utilization of the Whiteman Family Performance Center, the Sun Devil's Pitching Lab located behind right field at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.   Prior to arriving in Phoenix, Jaffe spent the previous two seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of the Pacific. At Pacific, he produced Top-100 recruiting classes for the 2022 and 2023 signing classes for the first time in program history. Jaffe oversaw the pitching staff and development with the Tigers, produced scouting reports, led all recruiting efforts and scholarship budgeting and also assisted with the day-to-day operations of the program.   Jaffe mentored 2022 MLB draftees Hunter Hayes (Cardinals, 16th Round) and Elijah Birdsong (Pirates, 18th Round).   Hayes heads to the Cardinals after being one of the featured starters in the Tigers rotation as a junior. The right-handed pitcher led the Tigers in starts (14), innings pitched (64.2) and strikeouts (55). He had five games with five or more strikeouts and touched the upper 90s with his fastball.   After working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Birdsong became the Tiger's opening day starter. He joins the Pirates after appearing in 11 games with nine starts and finished the season third in strikeouts (37) and third in innings pitched (44.1). Birdsong was also named to the Perfect Game All-WCC team before the season.    It marked just the second time in Pacific program history that the team had two pitchers drafted in the first 20 rounds of the MLB Draft and the first time since 2001.   Prior to his time with Pacific, Jaffe spent a season as the volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Tech, where he worked the pitchers, catchers and first basemen. Georgia Tech was the No. 3 national seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2019 during Jaffe’s first season, where the team was the ACC Coastal Division Champions. Catcher Kyle McCann was named a 2019 Buster Posey Award finalist for the top catcher in the nation under Jaffe’s tutelage.   At Georgia Tech, Jaffe was heavily involved in the programs scouting reports and game planning and assisted in all facets of the game. He also assisted heavily in recruiting on an NCAA Waiver from the Summer and Fall of 2019.   Jaffe was an associate scout for the San Diego Padres in the Fall of 2018 before joining the Yellow Jackets and was the catching coach for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League that summer.   Jaffe spent two years with the College of Southern Nevada, which he also attending during his undergrad years. There, he was the catching coach, camp director and recruiting coordinator and helped guide the team to a 2017 Junior College World Series appearance.   He has also previous served as the head catching instructor for the Las Vegas Baseball Academy and worked with league’s Cardinals/Dodgers Elite Scout Team for four seasons.   Jaffe concluded his collegiate career as the team captain Pacific University in Oregon and also spent time at the College of Southern Nevada and Villanova.