Reds center field prospect will break into the upper echelon in 2021

Okay I admit, I may be a little biased. I got to see Michael Siani play for an entire summer in 2019 while working for the Dayton Dragons. Everyone around Dayton saw Siani’s elite potential. He parried great defensive ability with a good arm and lightning speed in center field. Michael Siani may be the most underrated prospect in the Cincinnati Reds farm system.

Taken by the Reds in the fourth-round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Michael Siani was signed for over slot-value and decided to forgo his commitment to the University of Virginia. Siani was once considered a potential first-round pick, but had a disappointing season in suburban Philadelphia.

Northeast players are always hard to judge due to their high school seasons being cut short by the cold weather, but the Reds were willing to take the risk on young outfielder. Siani was assigned to the now-defunct Greenville Reds of the Appalachian League and played well, but struggled in the power department posting a slash line of .288/.351/.386 while stealing six bases in 10 attempts.

Reds prospect Michael Siani showcased his elite-level defense in 2019.

In 2019 while playing for Dayton, Siani got off to a terrible start at the plate, and looked overmatched, hitting just .165/.276/.200. Things started to look up during the month of May, specifically near the end of the month. While the batting average sat at just .220, Siani put up a more respectable .326 on-base percentage while striking out less.

During the heat of the summer is when Michael Siani took his game to another level, hitting .289/.349/.361 in June and .326/.398/.370 in July while also swiping 22 combined bases in those two months.

Siani really began to showcase that supreme defensive ability Just check out this incredible catch. He truly ran the outfield better than anyone in the Midwest League, and it’s obvious that defense is Siani’s calling card.

Michael Siani would’ve reached Advanced-A in 2020 before even turning 21 years of age, but the minor league baseball season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Without last season to build off of, it’s possible Siani could start the 2021 season at Advanced-A Dayton, or perhaps even as high as Double-A Chattanooga.

I believe that if Michael Siani continues to play the great defense we know he’s capable of and can add a better approach at the plate to his already lightning-fast speed on the base paths, there’s very good reason to think the young centerfielder will be a Top 100 prospect next winter.