The new soon-to-be-named Frederick Atlantic League Professional Baseball (ALPB) Club is excited to introduce hitting coach, Aharon Eggleston and pitching coach Elih Villanueva. Both will join Manager, Mark Minicozzi for Frederick’s inaugural Atlantic League season in 2023 and round out the coaching staff.

Eggleston will serve as the hitting coach and brings a wealth of knowledge from his 13-year professional career. During his final season as a player in 2017, Eggleston played for the Summerset Patriots of the Atlantic League and hit .263 with 41 RBIs in 101 games. He earned Atlantic League All-Star honors four times during his career and was named the Atlantic League Outfielder of the year in 2016. He is a hard-working leader who is committed to his players, fans, and our community off the field.

In 2022, Eggleston helped lead the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League to the best overall record in the league and a playoff appearance. His mentoring and dedication helped multiple hitters on the Wild achieve career years at the plate during that season. Eggleston will be a significant asset to the Frederick ALPB Club.

Rounding out the staff as pitching coach is former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, Elih Villanueva. He will join the Frederick ALPB Club in a dual role as player coach, serving as pitching coach and a pitcher. Villanueva is entering his 16th season as a player and second season as a player/coach.

Last season with the Eild Health Genomes, Villanueva was the ace of the team’s pitching staff in the Atlantic League, registering 12 wins and leading the league in strikeouts with 151 in 140.1 innings pitched. He seamlessly fit into dual role with Genomes with his wealth of experience and excelled in his role managing the pitching staff in 2022.

Villanueva was drafted by the Marlins in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur draft from Florida State University. He appeared in his first MLB game on June 15, 2011, at the age of 24. He is familiar with the Atlantic League having played for Lancaster (2017), Charleston (2021), and Kentucky (2022).

“I am extremely excited to have Aharon and Elih join our coaching staff for 2023. They are values based leaders, who will represent our team and community positively on and off the field,” said Minicozzi.