Rodney Linares appeared so excited and pumped up Friday afternoon, you would half expect him to hit the field ready to play some baseball instead of trying to gather his new team around him and get them ready for the Appalachian League season which begins Tuesday.

"The last two days, I feel like I'm a kid again," Linares said with a smile.

The Greeneville Astros are back in town, and a roster loaded with 10 draft choices from the recent Major League Baseball Draft, plus some youngsters arriving from the new entry level team in Florida and the Latin America academies is enough to make Linares a bit giddy.

"I'm excited, man, really excited, probably more than my first year here," said Linares, who begins his third season as skipper of the rookie league team. "We had a pretty good run at the close of last year. We had a pretty good draft last year, and I was encouraged by what I saw in Florida, so yeah, I'm excited."

Looking at the current roster, it's obvious there are more draftees on the team than in previous years and fewer non-drafted free agents.

"We got a lot of high picks in Greeneville this year," the manager said. "In years past we were drafting a lot of older guys and they were going straight to the Penn (New York-Penn) League. This year we drafted some younger kids, and having the entry level team (in Florida) benefits us because we get more polished players and they already have a year or two under their belts."

Linares has spent the past couple of months at the Astros' facility in Florida, working with the younger kids. That came after working winter ball back home in the Dominican Republic.

"Our scouts feel these younger kids they've sent here are ready to play at this level, so I'm excited to see what they can do," he added. "I think we've got a really, really good chance of winning this year."

Among the familiar names on the roster are outfielders Frank Almonte and Nathan Metroka, infielder Jose Altuve and left-handed pitcher Luis Cruz.

Almonte led the team in hits with 54 last year, and Metroka paced the team with a .327 batting average. Both players also won an Appalachian League Offensive Player of the Week award during 2008.

Altuve played at second base for the Astros last year, while Cruz led all starting pitchers with a 2.28 ERA.

The 10 players on the roster from the 2009 draft are led by third round pick Jonathan Meyer from Simi Valley, Calif. He's a third baseman and is currently the only player coming to Greeneville straight out of high school.

Meyer was picked up at Tri-Cities Airport Friday afternoon and arrived at Tusculum College to get a first look at Pioneer Park, his first home field as a professional player.

"I was hoping to go (in the draft) the first day, so when it happened I was really excited," Meyer said. "Houston was one of the teams interested in me, so I'm happy about that.

It was the first time the California youngster had been in East Tennessee, but it didn't take him very long to be struck by the beauty of Pioneer Park.

"This place is beautiful," he said, gazing out at the lush green grass. "I understand it's one of the finer ball parks around."

The Astros also have the fourth round pick here, pitcher B.J. Hyatt from Greenville, S.C., who played collegiately at South Carolina-Sumter. Catcher Bubby Williams from Blue Springs, Mo. is an 11th round pick, and outfielder Ryan Humphrey from Blytheville, Ark., is a 15th rounder.

Some of the best players to come through Greeneville, pitchers Juan Gutierrez and Felipe Paulino to name a couple, came up through the Astros' Latin America academies. The team expects to benefit from a new crop of those player this year.

Infielder Miguel Arrendell and right-handed pitcher Carlos Quevedo won MVP awards for their play last season.

Workers were busy Friday at the ball park cleaning seats and preparing the stadium for next Friday's home opener. The team plays a three-game set at Bristol Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, before returning for the home opener next Friday (7 p.m.) against the Danville Braves.

General Manager David Lane and Assistant GM Hunter Reed have lined up promotions for every home game, plus there will be some new features at the stadium this year. A "tiki hut" is being built along the right field concourse to handle beer sales. There will be a "Wheel of Fun" where fans can spend a dollar and spin a wheel with the hopes of winning a prize. There are plans to rework the "Kidz Zone" down the left field concourse.

"We have six fireworks shows planned," Reed said, "every Friday night home game except July 3rd, and we're having that show on Saturday, July 4th."

A free "Astros Extravaganza" is planned for Monday night from 5-7 p.m. at the General Morgan Inn in Greeneville. It will be a chance for fans to meet the new team members, plus the coaching staff, and obtain autographs. Plus the Astros' mascots, Tennessee Tex and Tennessee Tess, will be present. Food will be provided by General Morgan Inn, and the event is open to all fans.

Tickets and merchandise are now available at the Astros administrative office located at Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum College. The office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Call 638-0411 or visit www.greenevilleastros.com for more information.