Dayan Viciedo

2017

There was no outlook written for Dayan Viciedo.

2016

After spending three full seasons in the major leagues, Viciedo spent all of 2015 at the Triple-A level, in the Oakland and Chicago organizations. It took him three months to find a professional home after failing to make the Jays’ Opening Day roster, and the White Sox opted to not re-sign him after season’s end. There is still some raw power in his bat, but he still shows little patience at the plate and has few tools in the field apart from his strong arm. He may need to play overseas for a year or two before he gets another chance to unleash it in the bigs.

2015

Viciedo posted the worst stat line of his professional career in 2014. He still has crazy raw power, but he swings at a lot of pitches and misses on many of those swings. Viciedo also has yet to learn how to draw a walk through three full major league seasons. As such, he had a limited role at times in 2014. Avisail Garcia's injury opened up regular playing time for Viciedo in right, but he saw fewer at-bats after Garcia returned. Melky Cabrera was signed in the offseason to take over the everyday left field job, leaving Viciedo as the odd man out. He was designated for assignment in January and isn't likely to take on anything more than a short-end platoon role with another club.

2014

Viciedo's second full season in the majors was a bit of a disappointment. He only hit 14 home runs after hitting 25 as a 23-year-old, and his OBP continued to hover around .300 while his strikeout rate stayed on the wrong side of 20 percent. There is room for the power to improve given that he is still relatively young, but he will need to break his strikeout habit in order to reach his ceiling. Viciedo logged the third-most assists of any AL outfielder with 12, but he also committed the fifth-most errors. There had been talk he would move to first base in 2014 with Paul Konerko's career nearing its end, but it looks like he will stay in the outfield now that fellow countryman Jose Abreu is in the fold, which could cost him some at-bats following the offseason acquisition of Adam Eaton.

2013

Three years after signing a major league contract with the White Sox out of Cuba, Viciedo finally received a full season's worth of major league at-bats. The fact that he hit 25 home runs may have been a pleasant surprise to some, but his 28 walks in 543 plate appearances should have been a surprise to no one. It can be easy to forget that Viciedo will only turn 24 during spring training, so there remains room for his power to grow. He should open 2013 as the White Sox's starting left fielder, and the sixth or seventh spot in the lineup will be calling his name.

2012

Viciedo received his first batch of regular playing time in his career in 2011, as he slid into a near-everyday outfield role when Carlos Quentin went down with injury in late August. He only hit one home run in those 102 at-bats, but he showed a more mature approach at the plate by actually taking a walk every once in a while. He experienced his best minor league effort prior to the recall, slashing .296/.364/.491 with 20 home runs in 452 at-bats. That power should develop as Viciedo ages, and his prospects for major league success should increase if the plate discipline remains. Following the White Sox's decision to trade Quentin to San Diego, Viciedo heads into the season as the team's everyday right fielder.

2011

The kid can hit, but he can't walk. Viciedo received 106 major plate appearances in 2010 - he had an extra-base hit in 13 of those and walked just twice. He also had 20 home runs in 363 plate appearances for Triple-A Charlotte, which is where he could start the 2011 season with Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn now in the fold. Viciedo should be up with the big club again at some point this season, but he will need an injury to one of the White Sox's corner infielders to see any playing time.

2010

Viciedo, the White Sox’s newest Cuban project, was supposed to challenge Josh Fields for the team’s starting third-base job in spring training. He didn’t. A power prodigy, Viciedo was supposed to slug his way up the minor league system. He stayed at Double-A Birmingham for the entire summer and only hit 12 home runs and 20 doubles in 540 plate appearances. Some in Chicago say Brent Morel now sits higher on the team’s organizational depth chart at third base. Of course, Viciedo probably would have moved to first base anyway before hitting the majors. The ETA depends on how quickly the power comes, and he probably needs at least a full season at Triple-A.

2009

Viciedo, a 19-year old Cuban defector, signed a four-year deal with the White Sox in December. He's expected to compete for the third base job with Wilson Betemit and Josh Fields. Viciedo first burst upon the Cuban professional baseball scene as a 15-year old, but he's had very little experience in international play, and after hitting for high average early on, regressed in his last couple of years. There are concerns about his weight (he showed up to his first MLB workout at 262 lbs.) and ability to stick at third base. While the age-to-level numbers look good, be careful not to compare his immediate potential to that of Alexei Ramirez. Viciedo still needs more polish, and chances are he'll spend much of 2009 in the minors.