Pirates' Sammy Siani Stays Hot in AFL
Pittsburgh Pirates outfield prospect Sammy Siani's defensive prowess has drawn much of the attention he has garnered as he works his way through the minor league ranks.
Now, his bat appears to be catching up. Siani tallied another two-hit performance, going 2-4 in the Scottsdale Scorpions' 3-1 win over the Salt River Rafters on Wednesday in the Arizona Fall League.
After grounding out in his first at-bat and then rolling into a double play the next time he was at the plate, Siani broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning with a base hit to center field. In his next at-bat, the Pirates outfield prospect reached base with an infield single to third base.
With the pair of hits, Siani is now batting. 412, which is the third-best on the Scorpions. He also has an on-base percentage of .444 and a slugging percentage of .647. Siani's growth at the plate has been a pleasant development for the Pirates and bodes well for both parties given the struggles Pittsburgh has had with developing its hitting prospects.
"Taken No. 37 overall in the 2019 Draft, the younger brother of Cardinals outfielder Michael Siani struggled for much of his two first full seasons of pro ball," MLB.com wrote. "A change to his swing path -- he’s much less steep now -- led to his first prolonged success with High-A Greensboro, and he earned a promotion to Double-A. He’s making a lot more contact now and trying to carry over that success to the AFL, where his speed and above-average defense should also be on display."
Pirates No. 3 prospect Termarr Johnson was out of the lineup while catching prospect Geovanny Planchart got the start behind the dish. He went 0-3 with a walk and a run scored and had another throwing error. Pirates pitching prospect Valentin Linarez faced one batter and got a groundout to get out of the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Scorpions (3-4) return to the diamond on Thursday to face the Peoria Javelinas (2-6) at 4:30 p.m. ET.
