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    Reds MiLB Notebook: Michael Siani’s hot start continues

    Doug Gray 22

    It’s been a strong start to the season for Michael Siani. And on Sunday he kept that going by going 4-6 with a double and his second home run of the season. After a short slump during the week, Siani kicked things back into gear over the weekend with two multi-hit games.

    Through 14 games the outfielder is hitting .320/.444/.580. Siani has walked more than he’s struck out, with 11 walks on the season and just 8 strikeouts in 63 plate appearances. His improvement in his walk and contact rate goes back to what he did last fall out in the Arizona Fall League when he had 10 walks and just 9 strikeouts.

    It’s not just that his plate approach that’s improving. Siani is also showing a big jump in power. Back in 2019 he played in 121 games with the then Low-A Dayton Dragons he had just 22 extra-base hits. In the 2021 season he had 23 extra-base hits for what was then High-A Dayton in 97 games. This season he’s already picked up 5 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs in his 14 games.

    Highlight Videos of the Week

    Jose Torres

    To say that Jose Torres had a good week would be the understatement of the year so far. The infielder played in four games last week with the Dayton Dragons and hit .533/.588/1.333, going 8-15 with a double, triple, and 3 home runs. He also stole 2 bases. The 3rd round draft pick last summer has now played in 39 games as a professional and is hitting .326/.379/.604 with 19 extra-base hits.

    Allan Cerda

    Another well regarded prospect on the Dayton Dragons, Allan Cerda hit the furthest home run of the season on the farm so far this season over the weekend. The blast below went 445 feet and disappeared into the ether of Day Air Ballpark.

    Elly De La Cruz

    The Reds top prospect that remains in the minor leagues at this point of the year, Elly De La Cruz has certainly hit the ball well with Dayton and he kept that going this past week, picking up 2 home runs to help boost his line on the season to .289/.333/.600 through 12 games.

    Alex McGarry

    Speaking of guys hitting the ball well in Dayton, and there are quite a few of them, Alex McGarry may be doing so better than anyone. He’s only played in 10 of the Dragons games this season but he’s made them count. He’s hitting .290/.361/.871 with 5 home runs, a double, and a triple so far. One of those home runs was a moonshot over the weekend that you can check out below.

    Trey Amburgey

    After a slow start to the season, Trey Amburgey picked things up last week in the series against the Iowa Cubs. He capped the series off with two home runs over the weekend, finishing the series up by going 7-19 (.368) with three homers.

    Albert Almora Jr.

    Not all highlights are home runs, though they are tougher to source out. The Louisville Bats came through, though, with two clips of Albert Almora Jr. flashing the leather. It’s not as though he hasn’t been hitting, either, with a .378/.395/.487 line through 9 games this year.

    Chase Petty

    One of the newest Reds prospects, Chase Petty is out to a great start in Low-A Daytona with the Tortugas. The 19-year-old has allowed just one earned run in his 11.0 innings pitched thus far (0.82 ERA) while walking just one batter and striking out 10. Against Bradenton this past week he tossed 4.0 hitless innings with four strikeouts, needing just 43 pitches to do so.

    Jay Allen

    I’ve seen multiple angles of the home run hit by Jay Allen this past week in Daytona and none of them make sense as to how the ball got enough air under it to leave the ballpark, yet it did just that despite looking like a line drive that would barely have cleared a basketball hoop somewhere in short left field.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    22 Responses

    2. Is there anything more fun than watching an absolute blast of a homerun?

      Hypothetical, if Almora continues to show the ability to hit, is there any chance of Senzel going back to 3B and Almora to CF? I’ve wanted Senzel in the dirt since they moved him. With Suarez gone and Moose being a shell of his former self at best, moving him back to 3B “seems” realistic.

      1. I’m also partial to outfield assists especially at home, but also spectacular defense in general.

        Doug this could be an entire thread. Offense vs. Defense, which is better? Tastes great, less filling.

        2. Offense today is boring. I go pitching and defense too. It’s still finesse as much as power. I’ll go with the poetic before the brute every time.

      2. Farmer is going to play every day in the infield.

        So if Senzel move from CF to 3B then Barrero is getting thrown into the outfield when he returns from injury.

        So that just fixes 1 problem by creating another.

        With Barrero being such an elite glove at SS I think i’d rather him stay in the infield.

        Maybe next year when Bell is gone, and Farmer is no longer a fixture in the starting lineup, Senzel could move to the infield?

        1. Are there stats somewhere proving “an elite glove?” Is that “elite glove” statistically superior enough to the glove they have there – which DOES have strong stats – that an unproved ability to hit at the MLB level is meaningless? Bell seems to have a lot of flaws, but this one is not nearly so clear-cut.

    3. Following on a comment from the previous article, getting Siani to develop into a ML outfielder, even as a fourth guy, would be an achievement for the organization, especially given his inconsistencies (and injury) of the last couple of years. It’s a good place to comment on the necessity of player development. I think it was Robert Stephenson who said that guys in his era of the Reds’minors were too often left to figure things out on their own, and/or bounced around among varying opinions. Whether hitter or pitcher, that just doesn’t fly. It’s got to be especially true for the high schoolers, juco guys, not to mention the 16 and 17 years olds coming out of foreign countries. Guys like India, McLain, not so necessary. And, even then, India struggled some. That said, coaching these guys cannot be easy, whatsoever. There’s a lot riding on success.

    4. Seems Launch angle hurt Siani and a few others.
      Early yet but more focus on a Line to Line approach.
      Helping so far it seems.
      Heard Hendrick was having same issue with Launch Angle.

    5. I really haven’t seen Siani much, but his swing is much shorter and much flatter than I remembered. His BB and SO stats are much better, too.

      It is a great sign for a guy to improve at the AA level, so he is my breakout guy of the year so far. He is still only 22.

    6. I’m hoping when McLain gets promotion to AAA, Torres goes up to AA at the same time. They are both college bats, that are off to nice starts as pros, so I hope they challenge them more than some other prospects. The MLB roster will be shedding a lot of players in the next 2 years, those that can move fast through the system, should.

    7. It is amazing how much the bodies of de la Cruz and the Twins Miguel Sano are so similar at the same age. Listed: de la Cruz- 6’5″ 200 lbs. with Sano 6’3″ 190 lbs. Amazing what quality nutrition and conditioning can do to a young body. Sano is now 6’4 270 lbs. and was a shortstop when he signed and played there and third base his first season in the states. It is possible Elly might be the Votto replacement we have wondered about.

      1. The Reds are going to be bitterly disappointed if De La Cruz ends up like the bloated Miguel Sano. He is much faster than Sano ever dreamed of being.

        De La Cruz also has way, way too strong of an arm to waste it at first base. I could see him ending up at 3B or RF.

      2. Ella could well end up at 1B, but over time. He may be more like Edwin Encarnacion than Sano if his defense does not play. I suspect he’ll get every chance in the world to play himself off of SS then off of 3B. I wonder if this had any influence in moving Hines to 3B?

      3. I would recommend the Documentary “Ballplayer: Pelotero“ about Sano to see further evidence of the similarities.

        1. Sano, though, ate himself out of stardom. I don’t know why you would assume that De La Cruz will do the same thing.

          Here is a video of Elly’s homer from a couple of days ago. I am taking the under on his being 200 pounds. https://www.milb.com/video/dragons-de-la-cruz-hits-one-out?t=playerid-682829.

          De La Cruz is thin in the hips and lean. Will he fill out? Yes. But if De La Cruz ends up at 272 like Sano is now, he won’t be very good.

          First base is easy to fill. There isn’t any point in assigning the best athlete in the system to play first when he is 20 years old.

          1. I’ll take that bet because I saw him step on a scale and the number was higher than 200.

    8. If Siani continues hitting in that way he is incrementing his value as top prospect since he has an elite level defense, should be climb the rankings sooner than later…
      How is McGarry evaluated by the scouts right now? Is he underrated?

      1. I don’t think McGarry is underrated yet. But if his game has elevated he could sneak into some rankings.

        1. McGarry is like a Todd Frazier

          Just a clutch core guy who may not be a star but you want him on your team

        2. Yes. But he’s limited to 1B and maybe Lf or DH. He could be a sleeper. Probably is a sleeper.

      2. McGarry is 24 and is striking out 33% of the time in A+ ball. I would need to see him in AA for several months before he could crack the Reds top 25. His performance thus far has been spectacular though.

        In the most spectacular season I can remember Gary Redus had an ISO of .324 a slugging% of .787 and an OPS of 1.346

        Right now McGarry has an ISO of .581 a slugging% of .871 and on OPS of 1.232. Redus’ season was better but McGarry’s is comparable thus far. Of course we are only 10 games into McGarry’s season.

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