Jose Siri seems to be making up for lost time of late. He missed nearly the first two months of the season after suffering a thumb injury in the first game of spring training, the outfielder returned to Daytona in late May. He got out to a bit of a slow start, but was promoted to Pensacola after a month.
It took a little bit of time to get going in Double-A for Jose Siri, too. But things are going in the right direction these days for the center fielder. He hit a long home run off of the batters eye on Saturday night for the Blue Wahoos. It was his 4th home run in as many games. He also drew a walk in the game, which gives him 10 in 28 games played with Pensacola.
The walks have been an issue for Jose Siri since he started his career. In 30 games with Daytona he walked just four times. That rate has more than doubled since he was promoted to the Southern League and Pensacola. There has still been plenty of strikeouts – 40 of them in those 28 games – but that rate has slowed of late, too. Right now, Jose Siri is doing a little bit of everything. He’s drawing walks, he’s hitting the ball for tons of power (.559 slugging percentage), and he’s playing strong defense.
While he may not be the best prospect in the system (though he’s in the top 10), he’s the most exciting one to watch. He’s just explosive in so many different aspects of the game. If his improved walk rate in Double-A is a true step forward, and he can cut down on his strikeout rate just a little bit, things could get really, really interesting for the Cincinnati Reds when it comes to Jose Siri.
Orlando Noriega pitching well for the AZL Reds
The Cincinnati Reds signed right-handed pitcher Orlando Noriega out of Venezuela in November of 2015 as a free agent. He then spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons pitching for the Dominican Summer League Reds. His first year saw him walk more batters, 34, than he threw innings, 31.0. The next year he repeated the league and saw his control take big steps forward, walking just 26 batters in 65.2 innings pitched. That also came with a 4.11 ERA (it was 4.06 the previous year despite all of the walks).
The steps taken forward in 2017 earned him a promotion to the United States and the Arizona League Reds in 2018. He took the mound on Saturday night in Goodyear and allowed one run over 5.2 innings. That also came with no walks and with five strikeouts. That start gave the 19-year-old a 2.81 ERA through 25.2 innings pitched this season. His walk rate is dropping again, handing out just six free passes on the year. He’s also struck out 28 batters.