4 Cardinal hitters who will get hot in the month of June

Michael Siani

At first, Michael Siani seemed to be a minor-league replacement batter who filled in for an injured Dylan Carlson. Despite his impressive speed and range in center field, Siani appeared overmatched at the plate and uncomfortable. It was eerily similar to Justin Williams’ stretch at the beginning of the 2021 season, and we know how that played out. 

Nevertheless, Marmol stuck with Siani as Carlson nursed his left shoulder injury from spring training. Now, it looks like he found his groove in the batters’ box. 

Starting on April 30th in the second game of the Detroit double-header, Siani, whose batting average sat under .200 throughout the month, went 1-for-2 with one run scored. That started a respectable eight-game hitting streak. In the fifteen games between April 30th and May 19th, when the Cardinals finished their Boston series, Siani collected at least one hit in ten games. 

Here is an excerpt from Bernie Miklasz’s Redbird Review, available on Scoops with Danny Mac, that I found interesting regarding Siani’s turnaround on May 21st.

"In his first 44 plate appearances of the season the outfielder batted .118 with no RBIs. In his last 49 plate appearances, Siani is hitting .326 with a .340 onbase percentage and .413 slug and has a double, homer and six RBIs. Gotta be happy for this classy guy. He’s developed into an important player for the Cardinals."

- Bernie Miklasz

Before the start of the 2024 season, Siani only appeared in nine games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022. Last year, he appeared in eight games between the Reds and the Cardinals all season. We need to see more of a picture of what he can do when he gets regular playing time. 

Next month, we will know if he can produce more than he has shown, but I am optimistic that Siani can showcase more, even when Dylan Carlson gets more at-bats and playing time.