Maturity Has Been Key Development For Jose Siri

Jose Siri (Photo by Danny Arnold)

No one questions outfielder Jose Siri’s talent. The 22-year-old has some of the most impressive tools in the Reds’ system, but his ability to put it all together has been an issue.

This season, Siri has dominated the low Class A Midwest League at Dayton. The righthanded batter set a league record with a 39-game hitting streak, breaking the mark of 35 that had stood for 40 years.

While his power, speed and defense have always shown up on the field, Siri has been dogged by questions about his maturity. It’s one of the reasons he’s still in low Class A after signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2012.

Farm director Jeff Graupe said he’s seen great development in Siri’s maturity.

“There’s work to do, but there is for everyone in A ball,” Graupe said. “He’s on the right track, and he knows what he needs to do. Any time you can get some success mixed in there, it becomes a lot easier to have confidence and carry yourself the way we expect.”

Low Class A can be a place where players toil in anonymity, but Siri has found a way to find the spotlight, for both the right and the wrong reasons.

Earlier this year he was suspended three games by the MWL for his part in a bench-clearing brawl that saw a West Michigan pitcher suspended 30 games for throwing a ball at a Dayton player during the melee. The fracas began when Siri stole second base and had his ankle stepped on by West Michigan’s Danny Pinero. Siri then went after Pinero, starting the altercation.

Siri grabbed headlines with both his hitting streak and the way it ended on Aug. 4. Great Lakes righthander Ryan Moseley threw behind Siri in his final at-bat of the game. Moseley appeared to throw another pitch at Siri before walking him. Benches cleared after the two had words as Siri went to first base.

During his streak, Siri hit .341/.363/.671 with 13 home runs, 12 doubles and three triples. He stole eight bases.

“His speed-power combo is unmatched, at least in terms of physical ability (in this organization),” Graupe said. “. . . (Dayton manager Luis) Bolivar and (hitting coach Daryle) Ward have been great with him. Yeah, you need some things to go your way to have a hit streak like that, but man, he’s gotten way better . . . It’s a lot of fun.”

C. Trent Rosecrans covers the Reds for the Cincinnati Enquirer