Archive for Dayan Viciedo

It’s a rainy Thursday across most of the baseball world. Look for delays and a few postponements. 13 games are scheduled. On to the links…

Knox Bardeen of AOL Fanhouse lists a few sell-high sluggers. The man at the top of his list? Adrian Gonzalez. “After hitting nine home runs in April and 11 in May, Gonzalez has only parked two in June,” writes Bardeen. “In fact, he hasn’t hit a home run since June 2nd when he capped off four straight days with a dinger. Since June 2nd Gonzalez has been walked 16 times and only has six base hits. That seems to be the new way to pitch to the Padres slugger, you walk him.”

Rotoworld’s Matt Stroup especially likes Jason Frasor in this week’s “Waiver Wired” column. The right-hander has been tabbed to take over ninth-inning duties in Toronto with Scott Downs hitting the disabled list. Frasor has a 1.90 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 19/3 K/BB ratio in 23.2 innings this season, leaving opposing hitters with a .184 batting average.

Andy Behrens of Yahoo! Sports points out that Alfonso Soriano has attempted “just two swipes since May 1.” The outfielder swiped 41 bags in 2006, 19 during an injury-shortened 2007, and 19 in 2008. He has just six through Wednesday. Perhaps his knee is still bothering him, or maybe he has decided to give up on the running game for good. Either way, it’s bad news for fantasy owners.

For those of you clamoring for more information on international prospects, the fellas over at RazzBall have taken a closer look at Junichi Tazawa and Dayan Viciedo. Tazawa is under Boston’s control, and Viciedo is a member of the White Sox.

Charlie Saponara of FantasyBaseball365.com is disappointed in Adrian Beltre, who is way off his career pace in almost every category this season. With free agency looming in 2010, Saponara believes the third baseman might be trying too hard: “The numbers do support that theory as well. Beltre is only walking 3.7% of the time, a far cry from his 7% BB career average. He’s also seeing fewer pitches per at bat (3.44) than his career average (3.77) and swinging at over 37% of pitches outside the strike-zone. No wonder he has a higher ground ball percentage and 12 GIDP (grounded into double plays) when he had all of 11 last season.”

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The Chicago White Sox entered the 2008 season facing an identity crisis. Coming off of a disappointing 72-win campaign, the South Siders possessed an aging roster and a farm system that had become fallow due to years of conservative drafting. Baseball America ranked the Chicago system 28th-best before the year, leaving an ominous forecast: “With an aging roster in Chicago that stumbled in ’07, the White Sox could be in for a long dry spell.”

Instead, the Pale Hose tallied 89 victories (supported by a +82 run differential). Southpaw John Danks emerged as a potential ace, and the maligned player development program received an infusion of much-needed position player talent. The White Sox system won’t be confused with that of the A’s or Rangers any time soon, but draftees Gordon Beckham (a middle infielder with a quality bat) and Jordan Danks (John’s brother; a rangy outfielder snagged out of Texas), as well as potential secondary-skills monster Tyler Flowers (a C/1B/DH to-be-named-later picked up in the Javier Vazquez deal) gave the system a boost. The Sox also dipped into the international market, signing a highly-touted Cuban for the second straight year.

Dayan Viciedo, who turns 20 this week, inked a four-year major league contract paying him a $4 million bonus and ensuring $10 million overall. The star of Cuba’s junior national team defected in May according to Baseball America, taking a boat to Mexico before etablishing residency in the Dominican Republic. He then shifted to Miami with his agent, Jaime Torres.

While Alexei Ramirez is a sleek athlete known for his speed and quick wrists, Viciedo is a burly right-handed hitter noted for his immense power. As you can see from this video, Viciedo has a quiet, powerful swing. Although this sounds a bit on the hyperbolic side, BA commented that he “has the power to hit 40-plus home runs in season, thanks to a quick swing that’s triggered by strong wrists.”

Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein also extolled Viciedo’s virtues (subscription required), dubbing him the fourth-best prospect in the White Sox System. “Viciedo”, Goldstein noted, “has the potential to be a top-line offensive prospect. He combines brute strength with incredible bat speed, and he’s one of those rare players for whom solid contact “sounds different” when he can fully square up on a fastball.”

While it seems as though a near-consensus exists regarding Dayan’s hitting ability, his skill set afield is much less heralded. Viciedo is listed at 5-11 and 240 pounds on MLB.com, and he was reportedly heavier than that when the White Sox first scouted him. With an ample frame, he could end up shifting down the defensive spectrum to first base or DH. Here’s one scout’s take on Viciedo:

“His body could go the same route as Livan Hernandez, and when I saw him in Mexico, he wasn’t very good at third base anymore,” one international scouting director said. “But he can really hit; in fact, I think he’s probably a better hitter than [Angel] Villalona.”

There have been some rumblings that Viciedo might have a shot of cracking the opening day roster for the White Sox. However, as Goldstein pointed out, “that’s more than a bit aggressive.” While spring training stats can be awfully misleading, he hasn’t hurt his case with two homers in 15 at-bats. The more likely scenario entails Viciedo starting the year in the minors, perhaps at Double-A. Long-term, he’s certainly someone to watch closely.

Fields and Betemit look like a decent platoon duo, but third might be there for the Cuban if he has the defensive chops. If not, DH and 1B will also be vacated sometime soon, with Jim Thome and Paul Konerko reaching the latter stages of their respective careers.

Yesterday, we profiled White Sox third base candidate Josh Fields. The former-first rounder has been a mild disappointment for Chicago, as the 26 year-old enters the 2009 season having yet to secure an everyday job. Today, let’s examine another guy who was once highly-touted, Wilson Betemit.

Betemit knows a thing or two about heightened expectations. The switch-hitter was once the next big thing in the Atlanta farm system, having signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1996. Betemit’s deal put the Braves in a bit of hot water, as birth certificate shenanigans caused confusion. Apparently, he was just 14 when he came to terms with Atlanta- international players are not eligible to sign until age 16. The Braves took a $100K fine and Betemit attempted to become a free agent, but the situation eventually blew over and the prized youngster took the field for the organization.

The results were fairly promising for such a youthful player, as Betemit raked in rookie ball and Low-A in 1999 and 2000. He held his own at High-A as a teenager in 2001 (.277/.326/.412) and smoked Double-A late in the season (.355/.395/.514). Baseball America was smitten with the then-shortstop, naming him the 29th best prospect in the game in ’01 and #8 overall in 2002. He kept his head above water at AAA between 2002 and 2004 (his career line at the level is .263/.325/.421), and he saw his first significant action with the Braves as a 23 year-old in 2005.

Betemit was only a part-time SS by that point, but he posted a tasty .305/.359/.435 showing in 274 PA. Since that point, however, Betemit’s progress at the plate has basically stalled. Following his .337 wOBA with Atlanta in ’05, he has posted marks of .336 in 2006 (split between the Braves and the Dodgers), .342 in 2007 (Dodgers and Yankees), and .308 this past year in the Bronx.

Over the course of his big league career, Betemit has shown decent plate discipline (9 BB%) and a propensity to whiff (28.6 K%), though he kept the K’s and eschewed the walks while posting a 3.1 BB% with the Yankees in limited 2008 playing time. While battling pink eye and a hamstring pull, he ventured outside of the strike zone over 31% of the time in sporadic AB’s for New York, a hefty increase over his previous rates. The Yankees booted Betemit to the South Side of Chicago in an offseason swap involving Nick Swisher.

It’s unfair to label Betemit a “bust”- the 27 year-old has authored a decent .260/.325/.437 career line in the majors- but it’s clear that the thrice-traded former top prospect has fallen short of expectations. His potent bat stopped progressing, and his big 6-3 frame necessitated a shift primarily to the infield corners (where his glove still does him no favors, with a career -8.9 UZR at third).

Betemit hits both ways, but he has done most of his damage against right-handers (.269/.339/.460 career) while generally flailing versus southpaws (.232/.276/.360). Given Fields’ lefty-lashing tendencies, a platoon (AKA a fantasy owner’s worst nightmare) suggests itself. Betemit has his uses on a major league roster as a reserve/platoon player with some pop, but he’s probably not someone deserving of a roster spot in most fantasy leagues.