Executive Vice President & General Manager
J.J. Picollo officially became the seventh General Manager in franchise history on Sept. 12, 2021, and on Sept. 21, 2022, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and General Manager, overseeing baseball operations.
He previously held the title of Vice President/Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel from 2015-21, and served as the Royals’ Assistant General Manager-Scouting & Player Development from 2008-15. Picollo joined Kansas City’s Baseball Operations Department on Aug. 13, 2006 as Director of Player Development.
Picollo has been instrumental in Kansas City’s player development during his tenure with the club. Since his arrival in 2006, the Royals have had 32 different players, coaches or trainers be selected to the All-Star Game, combining for a total of 54 All-Star selections. Of the 18 All-Star players among that group, 10 were originally drafted or signed by the Royals. During the same time, the Royals have produced seven different players who have earned a Rawlings Gold Glove Award, and that group has combined for 21 Gold Gloves. During Picollo’s tenure, the Royals have also had four different players combine for seven Louisville Silver Slugger Awards.
In 2011, Baseball America named the Royals farm system No. 1 among all 30 teams, and they ranked the Royals system No. 5 in baseball entering the 2022 season. Many of those minor leaguers have graduated to the Major Leagues over the last two seasons, a stretch in which Kansas City has had 24 players make their debuts.
Picollo came to the Royals after serving as the Director of Minor League Operations for the Atlanta Braves beginning in 2005 and had been with the organization since 1999. Prior to his promotion as Director of Minor League Operations, Picollo served as the Assistant Director of Player Development after working as an Area Scouting Supervisor for Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington D.C.
Before joining the Braves in 1999, Picollo served as Recruiting Coordinator and Hitting/Catching Instructor for five years, three at George Mason University and two at The George Washington University. He was drafted on two occasions by the Cincinnati Reds (1989 and 1993) and eventually signed with the New York Yankees after his senior year at GMU in 1994. He played his first two years of college baseball at North Carolina State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at GMU and his master’s degree in sports administration from The George Washington University.
He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Leawood, Kan., with their three children: Michael, Ryan and Lauren.