Century baseball players getting chance to hone skills during fall ball
Sep. 20—ROCHESTER — Baseball players from Century High School are getting some extended training and games this year.
Jeff Milene, who owns and operates Rochester Batting Cages, is running a fall league for the first time.
"It's for whoever is not in a fall sport, a casual thing," he said.
Milene wanted to give the Century players an opportunity to hone their skills with extra drills and games. The third of his three sons, Maddox, is a sophomore at Century this year. Not all of those players got to play much at a higher level this summer.
"Century had 21 kids on the (American) Legion team so a lot of those kids didn't get enough reps and game time," Milene said. "So we're trying to sneak some time in for those guys."
Some of the fall players were members of the Century varsity team in 2023 including Jerry Fletcher, Owen Kelly, Mike Ruff and Ian Vasquez.
Milene has a total of about 15 players on the squad for the fall ball team.
During the week, the players are training at Century High School, and they work a lot on baseball fundamentals. During the weekends, the team is playing as many doubleheaders as possible, mostly at Century.
"Some of the (Century) high school kids are playing football and soccer," Milene said. "I knew that was the case, but I just wanted to give more work for the kids who wanted it."
Milene said he plans to continue running the fall camp and playing games "until the snow comes." He is not charging the players for the training or games.
"You can play club baseball in the fall but not every family wants to dish out that kind of money," Milene said. "This is just come and have fun and hopefully learn from a couple of guys."
Greg Glasenapp is helping out Milene and soon a pair of professional players will be lending a hand.
Ernie Yake, a minor-league player for the Minnesota Twins, is returning to Rochester following the 2023 season. Yake, an infielder, is a native of Washington who now lives in Rochester during the offseason. The 25-year-old played in Class A, AA and AAA this season.
"He's going to help me with some defensive work," Milene said.
Mac Horvath, a 2023 second-round draft choice by the Baltimore Orioles, will return to Rochester next week after he finishes work in the Instructional League, which was held for several weeks following the minor-league baseball season. Horvath will work out at Rochester Batting Cages and also help train the younger players.
"We're just trying to get that Century pride back," Milene said. "... We've got decent numbers now in the baseball program, but we want to keep building that number-wise and hopefully that turns into competition and competition turns into a good, competitive team."
Ruff and Kelly will be attending a camp in October in Iowa City, Iowa. Lourdes standout Nick Bowron will also be attending the camp. Bowron, a left-handed hitter, is being recruited by numerous high-level colleges in power-five conferences.
"This gives them a chance to stay sharp and be ready for that opportunity," Milene said.
Bowron is currently playing fall ball with the Cincinnati Reds' scout team. That is the same team that Horvath played on when he was in high school.
"Half the team gets drafted every year," Milene said. "And Nick (now a junior at Lourdes) is a year younger than most of the kids on the team."
Milene said some of the schools who have been in contact with Bowron include LSU, North Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame. Horvath played his college ball at North Carolina.
"He's got a chance to be a good one," Milene said of Bowron. "I expect him to be a hitter at school, but he's kind of put himself on the map a little bit with his arm strength."
