When the Cincinnati Reds drafted Mike Siani out of high school this past summer there were some concerns about his swing and his bat. Coming into the high school season there weren’t as many questions, but a swing change and lesser than expected performance caused some hesitation by teams. The Reds didn’t appear to be one of them. They would pick Siani in the 4th round and give him a $2M signing bonus.
Last night he would go 3-4 with a walk, a run scored, and he had an RBI for the Greeneville Reds against the Bluefield Blue Jays. It was just a continuation of what he’s been doing for the month since he was first assigned after signing. The Reds center fielder is now hitting .326 on the season with a .409 on-base percentage and a .442 slugging percentage. In 24 games played he’s walked 12 times and struck out just 19 times.
Claudio Finol taking advantage of his playing time
He’s not the only teenager on the Greeneville Reds that’s been hitting well, though. 18-year-old Claudio Finol started out slow in 2018. In June, over just seven games, he hit .190 with a .182 on-base percentage and no extra-base hits. And no, that’s not a typo. His on-base percentage was lower than his batting average.
Since the promotion of Jonathan India, Claudio Finol has gotten more playing time for Greeneville. He’s played in 21 games since the start of July. In that time the infielder has gone 24-69 with six walks and 10 strikeouts. That’s good for a .348 average in that span. He’s only had two extra-base hits this season, both being doubles, but the rest of his game has rounded out nicely in limited action this season. He’s currently hitting .311/.354/.333 on the year. Not bad for a guy who skipped completely by the Arizona Rookie League after playing in the Dominican Summer League last season.