Around the Curve | Siani Looks to Build on Successful 2024 Season in Altoona

This story is part of the series 2025 Spring Break: Young Bucs Edition, a compilation of reports from Bradenton leading up to Opening Day.

BRADENTON, Fla. – Outfield defense is one of the most underappreciated elements of a good baseball team. And often, the first step toward having a good outfield defense is getting a good break on the ball when it’s hit in your direction.

For outfielder Sammy Siani, he likes to stay athletic and loose between pitches and when the ball is being thrown by his pitcher, he’d take a step or two in and hop; landing as the pitch arrived at home plate. This way he could break quickly on the ball if it was hit in his direction. Yet, as he moved up from High-A Greensboro to the Curve during the 2024 season, he noticed his jumps on balls hit in his direction weren’t good enough.

“I feel like my head was moving a little too much,” Siani relayed in a quiet batting cage after a scrimmage against a collection of Braves prospects at Pirate City on Tuesday afternoon. “My guy Matt Fraizer and I were talking about this the other day, how he watched guys like Kevin Kiermaier and other Gold Glove caliber players, and he helped me kind of find something that works well for me. I simplified it a bit where I can kind of toe-tap into it and sink into my hips and my feet and, for me, I’m getting way better reads and feeling more confident out there.”

Siani, who made several memorable plays in the field during the 2024 season for the Curve and was named Unsung Hero after he hit .254 with 24 extra base hits and stole 14 bases in 96 games.

.@SammySiani JUST FLEW THROUGH THE SKY pic.twitter.com/g3xSZ9DHU5

— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 11, 2024

“Last year was a good baseline of where I can be as a player and keep going up from there.” Siani said.

The 2024 season ended for Siani after a brilliant run in the Arizona Fall League. With Scottsdale he hit .324 with five doubles, four homers and 12 RBI in 20 games and was named to the postseason Fall Stars Team. All told between Greensboro, Altoona and Scottsdale, Siani wrapped up a career-high 138 games and nearly 600 plate appearances to help him develop his game.

Then, it was back home to the Philadelphia area to unplug from the game for a few weeks and spend time with family. Sammy spent a significant part of his off-season with his older brother Michael, who just wrapped up a season that included a career-high 124 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. The two are close, often exchanging messages after games and spent the off-season together working out at IMG Academy in Bradenton.

“Spending time with my brother is always a lot of fun for me,” Siani says with a smile. “Learning from him about the difference in being in the minors versus the majors and things to expect as you progress through the minors has been really helpful.”

Curve Cuts

• Minor league games got underway at Pirate City on Tuesday afternoon with two scrimmages against the Atlanta Braves. Brandan Bidois wrapped up the Double-A/Triple-A game against Atlanta with an impressive set of raw stuff on the mound. A native of Melbourne, Australia, Bidois worked his fastball in the 96-98 mph range with a pair of breaking balls that befuddled Braves hitters. Bidois spent the 2024 campaign as one of Greensboro’s most trusted relief arms, it’s possible that he pitches his way onto Altoona’s Opening Day roster.
• Speaking of the Opening Day roster, there is some optimism around Pirate City about what the Curve pitching staff can roll out this year. With a healthy Hunter Barco at the front, the Curve ought to see returns for Anthony Solometo, Po-Yu Chen and Dominic Perachi to Altoona. The bullpen will likely see stud left-handers Jaden Woods and Cy Nielson return with Drake Fellows, Justin Meis, Jack Carey, and Cristofer Melendez slotting into key bullpen roles. Melendez has touched 100 mph with his fastball several times this spring and could be a late-inning option for Manager Andy Fox and Pitching Coach Matt Ford.
• Hunter Barco is trending toward being one of Altoona’s top arms to open the 2025 season. Drafted 44^th overall in 2022 by the Pirates out of the University of Florida amid a recovery from Tommy John surgery, Barco rebuilt his innings to 66 last year and reached Altoona for two starts before succumbing to a season-ending leg injury. The No. 7 prospect in the Pirates system according to MLB Pipeline, Barco worked with the pitching development staff in Florida to identify a slight mechanical change that should avoid a recurrence of the issue that ended his season early in 2024 and it has opened up a bit more velocity. A year ago he comfortably worked in the 93-96 range with his heater though there have been more 97’s and 98’s mixed in this spring.
• The grind never stopped for infielder Kervin Pichardo this past off-season. After playing on an everyday basis for the Curve, he took just a few days off before heading out to Arizona Fall League along with 2024 Curve teammates Sammy Siani, Termarr Johnson, Valentin Linarez and Eddy Yean. There, he hit .309 with a .952 OPS in 17 games before heading down to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball with Gigantes del Ciabo where he shared a clubhouse several major league veterans, including Jorge Bonifacio, Wilmer Difo, Jose Siri and Leury Garcia. The highly competitive Dominican Winter League is a great development experience for a young player like Pichardo, as a 23-year-old he was one of the youngest players to suit up for Gigantes.

Stay tuned to the Around the Curve blog all week for our 2025 Spring Break: Young Bucs Edition series, with Jon Mozes and Preston Shoemaker reporting from Bradenton.