Dayan Viciedo

[colbyjack]

Dayan Viciedo, a 19-year old Cuban player that defected over the summer, has filed the necessary paperwork and has been declared a free agent:

 

http://www.baseballameric...om/blog/prospects/?p=1789

 

As you'll see in this report by BA, the opinions among the scouting community are really mixed. Cuban prospects typically are so risky because they are inevitably compared to the players that preceeded them. Last year Alexei Ramirez received a lot of scrutiny, and yet he became a rookie of the year candidate. Before him Kendry Morales was praised for his athleticism and bat, and he seemed to have gotten way out of shape, which is always a concern with Cuban players that seemed to have started with Livan Hernandez. Jose Contreras of course became part of a huge bidding war and has never come close to living up to previous expectations despite having a couple of solid seasons with the White Sox in his mid-30s.

 

Viciedo was unfairly compared to Cuban legend Omar Linares when he was 14 or 15 years old, and now at 19 it's uncertain if his previous hype in close to his talent, or more importantly, his desire (although Manny Ramirez' desire has been questioned before, and he's one of the best hitters in MLB history). Viciedo does have two big tools: His power and his arm, and if a team believes he hasn't eaten himself off of third base, or even the OF, he could be an interesting pickup for a team that has a glaring hole at the hot corner or a corner OF spot.

 

I'm not sure of his overall profile, but I believe he's a switch hitter. The White Sox are among the teams bidding on him given their relationship with Jaime Torres, the agent for Viciedo, Contreras and Ramirez.