Former Greeneville Astros Getting Closer to Achieving Big League Dreams
April 3, 2015 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Greeneville Astros News Release
Jose Altuve with the 2009 Greeneville Astros
(Greeneville Astros)
GREENEVILLE, TN - As a new baseball season begins, many former Greeneville Astros have progressed to higher levels in the Houston Astros minor league system. Forty-three former Greeneville Astros have made the Opening Day rosters of the Astros four full season affiliates. Fans in Greeneville have seen and cheered for many of these players when most of them began their professional baseball careers at Pioneer Park. Now, after a grueling Spring Training, they are all at least one step closer to realizing every baseball player's ultimate dream of playing in the big leagues.
Since the inaugural season for the Greeneville Astros in 2004, there have been seventeen players, at least one from every team through 2010, go on to play in Major League Baseball. Looking ahead, it seems like a strong possibility that several players from the last four seasons will also have a shot to join that exclusive list and keep the streak alive.
Currently, two-time MLB All-Star second baseman and 2014 American League batting champion Jose Altuve is the lone former Greenville Astros player on the active roster for the Houston Astros. However, three others are on the 40-man roster including right-handed pitchers Vincent Velasquez and Michael Feliz along with left-hander Luis Cruz.
Meanwhile, with many others knocking on the door in the upper levels of the minors, it appears five other former Greeneville Astros players have made the active rosters for different big league organizations. Right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles is back for year two with the Colorado Rockies, fellow righty Mike Foltynewicz is on the Atlanta Braves after an offseason trade, lefty Fernando Abad has returned to the Oakland A's, outfielder J.D. Martinez is set with the Detroit Tigers, and outfielder Delino DeShields, Jr. seems to have solidified a spot with the Texas Rangers after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft from Houston.
Each of these players will serve as great examples for the 2015 Greeneville Astros once their roster is set following the First-Year Player Draft in June. However, the top four affiliates in the farm system for the Astros, Triple A Fresno, Double A Corpus Christi, Class A Advanced Lancaster and Class A Quad Cities, got their rosters set this week and will open their seasons on Thursday, April 9th.
Upon the release of the Opening Day rosters for the full season clubs, Greeneville Astros general manager David Lane said, "The beginning of each new baseball season brings hope and excitement on so many different levels. We could not be happier to see so many of our players' hard work paying off for them as they advance through the Astros minor league system on their way to the big leagues."
Potentially, the players closest to taking that next step will begin in Triple A Fresno, a new Astros' affiliate this season. Left-handed pitcher Luis Cruz will be joined by right-handers Jordan Jankowski and Richard Rodriguez. In addition, outfielder Ruben Sosa will be starting at the highest level in the minors for a second consecutive season after beginning last year with the Astros' former Triple A affiliate in Oklahoma City.
At the Double A level, ten former Greeneville Astros will suit up for the Corpus Christi Hooks to begin the season. They will be led by former Greeneville manager Rodney Linares and a pair of top prospects in shortstop Carlos Correa and right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers, both of whom appeared in Greeneville in 2012.
In addition to McCullers, other pitchers on the Hooks roster include right-handers Mike Hauschild, Daniel Minor, Tyson Perez, and lefty Mitchell Lambson . They will have Roberto Pena catching and Jiovanni Mier, Telvin Nash, and Tyler White joining Correa on the infield.
Last season, several of the new Hooks players helped lead the Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks to their second California League title in three seasons. This year, there will be fourteen former Greeneville Astros beginning the season in Lancaster under the direction of another former Greeneville manager in Omar Lopez.
The JetHawks will have seven former Greeneville pitchers take the mound including right-handers Tyler Brunnemann, Michael Feliz, Edison Frias, Adrian Houser, Gonzalo Sanudo, Troy Scribner, and Frederick Tiburcio . Behind the plate, they will have standout catcher Brian Holberton . Jose Fernandez, Jack Mayfield, Chase McDonald, and Chan Moon will be on the infield and, finally, Marc Wik and Brett Phillips will be roaming the outfield.
At Class A Quad Cities, where 2013-14 Greeneville manager Josh Bonifay will be taking the helm, there will be fifteen players that previously played in Greeneville. This includes nine players that played under Bonifay in Greeneville as recently as last season. Among those players is the recipient of the Appalachian League's final Pitcher of the Week award for last season, right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn . Moving up with him will be Joshua James, Jose Montero, Eric Peterson, Keegan Yuhl, Jacob Nottingham, Bryan Muniz, Kristian Trompiz, and Sean McMullen.
Among the River Bandits players that were on the Greeneville Astros prior to last season are Austin Chrismon, Kevin Comer, Chris Lee, Joe Musgrove, Alfredo Gonzalez, and Thomas Lindauer .
Fans can keep track of the progress of each of these players throughout the season under the "Where are they now - section on www.greenevilleastros.com .
Opening Day of the 2015 Appalachian League season for the Greeneville Astros will be on Tuesday, June 23rd when they visit the Bristol Pirates. The Astros' home opener will take place two days later on Thursday, June 25th as they conclude a split series with the Pirates at Pioneer Park.
Options to renew and purchase new season ticket memberships are now available. To learn more or to purchase a ticket membership, please visit www.greenevilleastros.com, stop by the Astros' administrative offices located at Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum College, or call (423) 638-0411. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:30pm.
Images from this story
 Carlos Correa with the Greeneville Astros |
 Lane McCullers with the Greeneville Astros |
 Jose Altuve with the 2009 Greeneville Astros |
• Discuss this story on the Appalachian League message board...
Appalachian League Stories from April 3, 2015
- Former Greeneville Astros Getting Closer to Achieving Big League Dreams - Greeneville Astros
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
