Aug. 15, 2006
The Kansas City Royals are slowly taking on a more Patriotic look this season, first with the hiring last month of Dayton Moore as general manager, then with the addition of J.J. Picollo as Director of Player Development. Picollo, like Moore a former George Mason baseball player, leaves a similar position in the Braves organization, where he also served under Moore.
Picollo played two years at George Mason, the 1993 and 1994 seasons. The transfer from North Carolina State was selected in the 14th round of the 1993 draft by the Cincinnati Reds after helping Mason to its first-ever at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. It was the second time the Reds drafted him as they selected him in the 16th round after an exceptional high school career in which he was twice named All-State. The catcher chose to return for his senior year and was named second-team All-CAA and signed as a free-agent with the New York Yankees after the season. He played one season at Oneonta, N.Y. in the Class A New York-Penn League.
In 1993, Picollo batted .314 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI. He walked 33 times while striking out just 27 times. He appeared in 48 games with 175 at-bats and 44 runs scored. He also had 14 doubles and a triple on the year, slugging .577. He was named All-Virginia and was also selected All-Met by the Home Plate Club.
In 1994, Picollo started 50 games for the Patriots, batting .269 with seven homers and 37 RBI. He had 10 doubles and scored 40 runs on the year. He again was selected All-Met by the Home Plate Club. For his career, he batted .291 with a .507 slugging percentage, and he started all 98 games in which he appeared.
Picollo returned to Mason in the summer of 1996 when he was named a full-time Assistant coach. He spent several years as an assistant at George Washington before rejoining the Patriots
Picollo was serving as the Braves' Acting Director of Player Development after serving as Assistant Director of Player Development. He rose to that position after joining the organization in 1999 as a scout.
