Michael Siani’s 2022 breakout season just got better as the Cincinnati Reds have added him to the 40-man roster and called him up to join the big league team after needing to replace outfielder Nick Senzel on the roster after he broke a toe when he collided with the wall in center last night against the Red Sox.
Cincinnati would have needed to protect Siani from the Rule 5 draft this offseason, so adding him to the 40-man roster now doesn’t change much from the organizational standpoint other than his salary goes up for the next two weeks instead of in April next year when the season began.
For Siani, the 2022 season is seemingly a continuation of the progress he made in the Arizona Fall League in 2021. While he only played in 14 games in the AFL, he walked more often than he struck out and saw his strikeout rate drop off from where it had been during the regular season. While he didn’t walk more than he struck out in 2022, his strikeout rate dropped from 25% in 2021 in High-A to 16.7% in his time with Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville while he maintained an above-average walk rate. Click here to see his career minor league stats.
With the improvement in his contact rate came an improvement across the board in his output. He set new career highs in doubles (19), triples (7), and home runs (14). His 14 home runs were hit in 129 games and matched the number of home runs he had hit in his career that had spanned 264 games entering the season. Long known for his speed and defense, Siani also set a career high with 52 stolen bases in 64 attempts (81% success rate).
While he’s mostly played center field in his career, he’s fully capable of playing in both left and right field. His arm is also an asset in the outfield as he’s picked up 38 assists in 357 games played at the minor league level.