New year, new skipper for Range Riders

The Range Riders finished the 2024 season clinching their first postseason berth and were two games away from winning their first Pioneer League Championship in just their fourth season.

Now, for the fourth straight year, they will start their season with a new manager at the helm, this time Todd Pratt.  

In a statement released by the team: “As a young franchise we are always trying to evolve and adapt to figure out what we can do better every year. We're excited for what Todd can bring to the team as we continue to solidify our identity as one of the premier organizations, not just in the Pioneer League, but in all of minor league baseball.” 

Pratt is replacing Paul Fletcher, who joined the team midway through the 2022 season as a pitching coach. In 2023, he was promoted to manager and led the team to the second-best record in the first half of the season, which clinched the franchise’s first postseason berth. 

They finished the season 48-48 and eliminated the team with the best record in the Pioneer League, the Missoula Paddleheads, in the first round of the playoffs. In the championship series, they beat the Yolo High Wheelers in game 1, before dropping three straight to end the season. 

“Not long after we came home from California, the organization started having discussions of bringing Todd in as a co-manager,” Fletcher said.  

“I felt like I did everything they asked me to do as a manager and we just weren’t in agreement about the role they wanted me in, so I decided to move back home to Georgia and pursue other opportunities.” 

Insert Pratt. 

Pratt is a former MLB catcher who spent 14 years playing for the Philadelphia Philles, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. 

It was during his time with the Braves when he crossed paths with Range Riders owner Marty Kelly and the two have remained close ever since. 

“I think Marty and Todd have been family friends for a while,” Director of Range Riders Communications Scott Gladstone said. “The Sun Belt collegiate league is kind of what got the Kelly’s into baseball and Pratt has been the commissioner of that league for the last couple of years and has served as an advisor.” 

Bringing on a 14-year MLB veteran could appeal to players who want to join the Range Riders, as the goal is to have your contract purchased by a Major League affiliate.  

Under Fletcher’s leadership, the Range Riders led the Pioneer League with the most players’ contracts purchased by MLB teams. 

“If you include the two guys signed in the preseason, there were only 13 players signed to an MLB team last year and we had seven of them," Fletcher said. “I felt like we did a really good job of what these independent leagues are all about and that’s getting players moved and making it to the postseason.” 

In the Pioneer League, rosters and coaches are ever-changing but the one constant with the Range Riders is bench coach Stu Pederson, who has been with the team since their inaugural season. He was the manager when Fletcher was the pitching coach. 

“We joke around here in the office that Stu will be around until the end of this team,” Gladstone said. “He loves working 1-on-1 with the players and we love having him here.” 

Jesse Crain is also returning to the staff as a Special Advisor to the GM. Pratt and Kelly will use this offseason to fill out the other coaching roles and get players signed. 

“The more you look at the landscape of the Pioneer League, a lot of it is players just wanting to make it to the Major Leagues,” Gladstone said. “Having a guy that has that MLB experience is kind of a standard we have with our hires, to help get guys signed and someone with his experience and knowledge is an ideal fit to lead our team.”