Fortuno with the Helena Brewers, the rookie ball affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, in 2016.
Gentry Fortuno was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2015 MLB Draft from Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, FL. Fortuno played parts of two MiLB seasons in the Brewers organization in 2015 and 2016. More recently, Fortuno is enrolled at Barton College where he pitches for the Bulldogs baseball team. Gentry provides an interesting perspective, going right from high school graduation to professional baseball. He shared his MiLB experience with us, along with his thoughts on the Minor League pay structure.
"The majority of the guys, including me, were blessed enough with some sort of a decent bonus. But then again, a lot of guys lived off the normal income which is barely $5,000. It really depends who you are and how you have learned to live and adapt; from a sense of clothing style, to what you drive, if you like to go out, or even an extreme saver. Being an 18-21 year old, I was young and fortunate enough to not have any kids or spouse, so
living off of the minimum wage is very doable. It just takes lots of discipline.
I think a lot of people don’t understand the actual grind of a Minor Leaguer. Our days typically last anywhere from 9 hours on a short day, to 15 hours on a long day. We work our tails off. I think for the amount of hours that we put in, we should be getting respectable compensation. But I play because I love the game.
If you didn’t get a bonus, you were living on very little money. Obviously right off the bat you don’t even come remotely close to receiving any of your bonus until at least 6 months with the organization. It is very tough. A lot of guys have never been away from home and didn’t have the responsibility of even cooking meals. There were so many nights that a couple of teammates and I were on the low end of money and we had to manage everything. Because we were young, drinking and going to bars wasn’t an option. You have roughly $300-450 a month of income. I’m 6’3” 230 lbs. I have to eat at least 4 meals a day. All of my teammates and I had to split groceries and pitch in for one big order, in order to eat through the month. We’d even split gas. Four roommates usually would split one tank of gas for one car and spend $5-7 apiece for a full tank. So you have to prioritize yourself and be responsible about what you need and what you want."
- Gentry Fortuno