Siri rides aggressive style toward outfield spot

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Astros outfielder Jose Siri is likely to land on the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career after making his Major League debut last year. The flashy Siri has the kind speed and power combination that manager Dusty Baker loves, though his aggressive style of play can lead to mistakes on the field and basepaths.

“It don’t scare me,” Baker said. “I’d rather have a little bit of wildness and calm him down than I would to put some wildness in somebody. That’s how I feel … This guy, he has a lot [of] talent.”

Siri -- a former highly-ranked prospect with the Reds -- spent time in three different organizations in 2020 before signing with the Astros in December of that year. He parlayed hitting .318 with 29 doubles, 16 homers, 72 RBIs and 24 steals in 94 games last year for Triple-A Sugar Land into a September callup, and even started two games in the World Series.

“I've always played that way since I began playing baseball and no, I don’t think there’s anything that should change,” Siri said of his aggressive style of play. “That’s what’s gotten me here.”

Siri said he’s been working on his concentration and focus while also trying not to chase pitches outside the strike zone. He’s likely to split time in center field with Chas McCormick to start the season.

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“It definitely would mean a lot to me, but I don’t know anything yet,” Siri said about making the Opening Day roster. “My focus right now is to stay focused and concentrate and continue to work.”

Siri helped the Gigantes del Cibao win the Dominican League championship this year in his fifth season with the team.

Blanco making bullpen push

Hard-throwing right-hander Ronel Blanco, who the Astros signed out of the Dominican Republic at 22 years old in 2016, has put himself on the radar to win a bullpen job in camp with four scoreless outings this spring. He’s struck out seven batters, walked two and has allowed one hit in 4 1/3 innings, including 1 1/3 innings of relief Wednesday against the Mets.

“His stock was high before the spring,” Baker said. “We’d hope he would be as sharp as he is now, especially because he had a great winter ball. He came into camp ready. He’s nice and calm … I really like what we’ve seen so far.”

Blanco threw 17 pitches against the Mets, averaging 96 mph with his fastball. He spent last season at Triple-A Sugar Land, saving 22 games and posting a 3.40 ERA in 42 games. He struck out 57 batters in 45 innings, then played in the Dominican Winter League, where he threw 18 scoreless innings in the regular season.

“The feedback and advice I got [from the Astros] was to attack the zone more, to use my pitches more in the zone,” Blanco said. “Obviously, it would be really good news [to make the team] and I would feel really happy for it.”

Currently, Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, Héctor Neris and Cristian Javier are locks in the bullpen, which will likely be 10 deep in April. Brandon Bielak has a leg up to join Javier as a long reliever. Rafael Montero arrived late and has yet to pitch in a Grapefruit League game. Baker would like to carry two lefties from among Blake Taylor, Zac Rosscup and Adam Morgan, which leaves at least one spot.

Veteran Pedro Báez’s velocity remains down after battling a shoulder injury last year, and Baker has admitted his concern. Báez’s fastball was sitting at 89-90 mph on Tuesday in his only Grapefruit League outing thus far, with his changeup at 79 mph. In 2020 -- the year before he signed -- he averaged 94.4 mph on fastball and 86.8 mph on changeup. Last year, coming off injury, those numbers sank to 90.4 mph on his fastball and 83.2 on his changeup.

Blanco could earn a bullpen spot if the Astros decide Báez won’t be ready to help them in April.

“We still got some guys we haven’t gotten a definitive look at,” Baker said. “It’s a good team and there’s not a lot of spots open, but there’s always some. Just depends on how some guys respond these last few days. It also depends if some guys are ailing or not, or they got here late and so they need more time to get right. We’re still trying to decide that.”