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The profession of scouting, whether it be at the high school, college or professional level is a hodgepodge of opinions, projection, numbers, personal and/or organizational preference along with occasionally being in the right spot at the right time. Many high end players are slam dunks and really not much of a challenge...we know Ian Anderson's frame, arm speed and low to mid 90's FB is going to play at the next level, Quentin Holmes could beat a Cheetah in a footrace, Henry Davis has a plus-plus arm behind the dish. These are the easy ones, the real challenge is finding the diamond in the rough, those who are not locks for the MLB draft or a Power 5 baseball commit. The player that maybe isn't blessed with all the necessary "tools". The one who continues to grind with little fanfare. We call this here at Prep Baseball New York offices, "The Mike Siano Effect".

The Backstory

We first got a look at Siano way back in September of 2015 at our Eastern New York All-Star Games in the Albany region. He had a block-frame with a bit of a sweeping swing path, very rotational through the shoulders, almost neglecting his lower half. Really a one dimensional swing that if someone threw the ball anywhere but down and in, he'd be an easy out. Defensively the cruel world of baseball land-locks a left-handed player for obvious reasons. Either you'll play 1B, pitch or play OF. That's determined at birth and there's nothing anyone can do. Siano would be the first to tell you that there would be no projection in the outfield and pitching wasn't going to happen.

The Evolution

New to PBR and devising our state rankings, I'll never forget coming across Siano's video after the 2016 New York Games. Like most profiles, I glance at the numbers first and try to draw an imaginary picture of what I'm about to see on the video. Well, two of the numbers were not great (even for 1B). Siano ran a 8.06 60-yard dash and his arm was 60 MPH. Granted neither tool is of complete necessity at 1B, they were still well below average numbers. Then I saw the 88 MPH exit velocity. I saw it was previously 85 and then I watched his old video, thinking to myself "I really hope this kid can swing it, otherwise we made a mistake having him at this event.". What I saw on the video I watched over and over and over again. He was more explosive, the swing was shorter with the ball seemingly jumping off the bat. We dropped him into the rankings, albeit towards the bottom. He'd shown some improvement off his best tool and that was good enough for me at the time.

The Epiphany

The scene was Syracuse, NY around 6am in the hotel lobby before our massive New York Pre-Season event in February of 2017. PBR-NY President Dan Cevette, myself and a few other staff were grabbing a quick breakfast when Siano approached us. It was before my first coffee of the day so the exact conversation details have escaped me but it goes along the lines of the following: Siano thanked us for everything we do and allowing him to attend the "Invite Only" event and that he had been really working hard on improving his game and upping his numbers. He was fired up, it was a few hours before the event and he was ready to go. So what happened? He went out and shaved a 1/2 second off his 60 time, and his arm strength improved by 13 MPH! He reached a personal best exit velocity of 94 MPH, pounding balls in BP and looking more agile around the bag at 1B. I remember thinking on the way home, "I need to rethink my approach on some kids, this guy delivered and he's going to play college ball somewhere."

The Recognition

When we updated the rankings, Siano had a significant jump. He went from a borderline at absolute best college player (with really no guarantees of seeing the field) to a player that needs the right fit to blossom. We featured him in one of our favorite features, the "Progress Report" in early May of this year highlighting some of his recent improvements. Unknown to us Siano was really struggling at the time and after reading that article, regained his confidence, perhaps understanding that he had put the time and efforts in and he wasn't going to let his season go down the drain. From that part onward he tore it up.

The Confirmation

This past summer we hosted our East-West Battle at Cortland where we got see his Tri-City Bomber travel team play (and eventually win the tourney). He did nothing but barrel balls up, earning the title "The Barrel Master" from myself and our staff. Whenever he was up we were sure to notify the coaches near us that this kid was about to square one up. He did not disappoint. Another thing happened that summer that caught me by surprise, others were starting to take notice. On three separate occasions at three different locations across the state I had college coaches approach me with this general question...almost like they were hesitant to ask: "So...what's your thoughts on the lefty slugger from Queensbury, Mike Siano?". Our conversations usually went back and forth with how he can "mostly likely hit for us, can he play 1B? I'm not sure how he fits with what we already have, I really like the bat.". The word was out, a 5-foot-11 220 1B who was a serviceable defender with and improved but average arm for his position, was getting noticed. He took a strength and made it stronger, he took some weaknesses and made them better.

The Conclusion

This week Siano let us know he was heading to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the decision based on academics first, then followed with the opportunity to play for a team that made the NCAA DIII Postseason this past season.  He understands the importance of the degree and baseball is his love that helped shaped his decision. We have hundreds of players in our system that our ranked, we see thousands every year. Many are easy to project and place at a certain level. Many posses certain abilities that rank higher then the other, some have all the tools. Siano didn't necessarily have these and will still need to work to crack the lineup at an up and coming program such as RIT. Simply put, don't be surprised of reports of him launching balls into the pine trees that surround RIT's park and making a huge impact in the heart of that order at some point in his college career. As the Scouting Director of New York, I can't wait to see the next player that falls under the "Mike Siano Effect."

 

Prior Outer Black Features

Who's Next to Join the Family?

New York Winter Open	NY	02/11	Paul Gerry Fieldhouse - Loch Sheldrake, NY
Rising Stars Winter Showcase	NY	02/11	Paul Gerry Fieldhouse - Loch Sheldrake, NY
Preseason All-State West (NYS Games Trials)	NY	02/19	Pinnacle Sports Campus - Victor, NY
Preseason All-State Downstate (NYS Games Trials)	NY	02/21	House Of Sports - Ardsley, NY
Preseason All-State East (NYS Games Trials)	NY	02/22	All-Star Academy - Latham, NY