The Dominican Winter League Championship Series is now four games in, with Estrellas Orientales up three games to one on Toros del Este. Cincinnati Reds prospect Jose Siri is a big reason why. On Monday evening the center fielder led off the game with a solo home run, giving his team a 1-0 lead. They would hold that lead the rest of the way. You can see the video highlights from the game in the tweet below.
Con cuadrangulares de José Sirí y Fernando Tatis Jr., doble remolcador de Miguel Sanó y pitcheo clutch del relevo, las @EOBASEBALLCLUB se impusieron 3-2 en el Corral, colocando la #SeriedelaCaña 3-1 a su favor #LIDOM @windtelecom pic.twitter.com/cSvFRRqfwx
— Víctor Ml. Báez S. (@VicBaezS) January 22, 2019
The home run for Jose Siri wasn’t all that he did on the night, though. He would also add a single and a double in the game. The double was an opposite field shot that one-hopped the wall over the right fielders head. Oh, and he stole a base and scored another run. The double was his third of the series, and the home run was his first.
To say that Jose Siri has been on fire for Estrellas in the Dominican Winter League Championship would be underselling what he’s been doing. The now 23-year-old is hitting .714 in the series. He’s slugging 1.143. He’s walked once and struck out once. His OPS is 1.876. He’s scored five runs and stolen two bases. To quote Billy Madison, “He’s good.”
The last year of baseball for Jose Siri didn’t start out well. After starting 2018 in Major League spring training with the Reds, he was injured in the first game of the spring. He took over in center field and collided with the wall, injuring his thumb. That injury cost him the next two months on the field. He returned to the lineup in May with Daytona before being promoted to Double-A Pensacola five weeks later. Siri finished out his season with the Blue Wahoos.
He got about six weeks of time off between the end of the year and the start of the Dominican Winter League, where he ranked among the league leaders in several offensive categories during the regular season. Now he’s closing out the “year” in a big way, helping give his team a great chance to move on to the Caribbean Series.
Cincinnati Reds spring training begins in less than three weeks. But for Jose Siri, as a position player, he won’t report until February 17th. He will be looking to compete for the starting job as center fielder. Currently the Reds do not have someone who has a hold on the job. What they do have is a lot of options. Beyond Siri, the team plans to look at top prospect Nick Senzel at the position – which is new to him. They will also give looks to outfielders Yasiel Puig, Scott Schebler, and Phillip Ervin.
With plenty of options, and Siri being the only one without at least some time in Triple-A, he may be on the outside looking in. But what gives him a chance is that he’s clearly the best defender of the group. In fact, he might be the only true center fielder of the bunch. He will certainly stand out defensively among this group, as he stands out among center fielders as it is.