16 former G-Stros on Instructional Roster

Brian McTaggart just released the Astros roster for the fall instructional league. This year, 16 former G-Stros will be spending a few extra weeks in Kissimmee honing their skills.  Here are the former G-Stros based on when they played here:

2008
Zach Grimmett - appeared in 23 games for Lancaster.  Ten of them as a starter and 13 as a reliever. Finished the year with an 8.21 ERA.

2009
Jonathon Meyer - Hit .272 in his second year in Lancaster.

2010
Telvin Nash - Hit .224 with 29 HR and 198 strikeouts in 106 games in Lancaster.

Delino DeShields - Had a break out year.  Started in Lexington and finished the year in Lancaster.  Stole a combined 101 bases on the season.  He raised his slash line from .220/.305/.322 to .287/.389/.428.  Just turned 20 in August.

Roberto Pena - He also started the year in Lexington but moved up to Lancaster to finish the season.  Pena caught 33% of the base stealers (26 out of 78) in Lexington.  His bat showed some improvement but his glove and arm are what have earned him the invite to instructionals.

2012
Three of the players on this list also played in Greeneville in 2011 but we will group them with their most recent cohort.

Ariel Ovando - He showed significant improvement between 2011 (.235/.283/.365) and 2012 (.287/.350/.444).  All the physical tools are present but he is still learning how to get them to do what they need to do.  He turns 19 later this week so we need to have some patience.

Chris Lee - He started the season in the Appy but was sent down to the GCL where he didn't pitch.  So the instructs will give him a chance to get some work in he missed during the season.  He was also on the team in 2011.

Frances Ramirez - He is the other player who was also on the 2011 roster.  He made four starts in '11 verses the 13 he made in 2012.  You can find more of my thoughts on him at my post Season Recap - Starting Pitcher. You can also use that link to get my thoughts on two other 2012 pitchers invited, Michael Feliz & Lance McCullers Jr.

Kevin Comer and Joe Musgrove were acquired during the year and didn't get many chances to pitch which is why they are heading to Florida for the fall.

The other four players are position players who were drafted this year: Carlos Correa, Rio Ruiz, Terrell Joyce, and Angel Ibanez. Of those four, Ibanez is a bit of a surprise due to his low draft slot but he showed a solid bat during the season and 3rd base is a shallow spot in the Astros organization.  
Overall, former Greeneville players made up almost half (16 out of 33) of the players invited.