Dayan Viciedo

by soxn08 on Jan 10, 2009 9:36 AM EST Comment 16 comments

With rookie drafts coming soon, where does the community feel that Dayan Viciedo belongs, ranking wise? I would still take Smoak, Hosmer, Alvarez, Alonso and T. Beckham ahead of him, but after that I am not sure. I've heard all the "bad-body" comments, but at 19 I am sure the Sox staff can get him in shape. Plus guys like Cabrera, Lee etc...seem to put the bad body stuff in perspective.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Don't know your draft pool but...

Our league drafts first year players plus any available minor league players that weren’t drafted in earlier years (Matt Gamel, Jhoulys Chacin types). That being said, and knowing next to nothing about Viciedo, I think its worth a flyer on him around the time that guys like Jaf Decker and Brad Holt are coming off the board.

"Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."

by strums on Jan 10, 2009 10:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Clarifying

Some other guys I would take before him:
Posey
Skipworth
Martin
Wallace
Hicks
Hunt
Collier
Lawrie
Hewitt
Kelly

"Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."

by strums on Jan 10, 2009 10:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hewitt

I would definitely take him before Hewitt. Without considering every individual option I would say hes a first round pick. He’s not an elite pick like Alvarez/Beckham/etc, but he’s arguably in the same range as Lawrie/Hicks types who we need more information about in one for or another but are huge talents.

by jelder09 on Jan 10, 2009 11:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hewitt

+1… I’m a die hard Phillies Phan and i wouldn’t touch Hewitt with a 10 ft. pole. He is 100% all tools and projection right now. He has very little to no actual baseball skills. I’ve been reading a lot on him lately and it seems if EVERYTHING goes right he could have potential in 4-5 yrs. In other words wait and see…

by PhillyPhanatic on Jan 10, 2009 1:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i've heard the projections of hewitt, and they do paint an interesting picture

basically, at the time of the draft, the phillies front office thought that if hewitt could ever hit .250, he’d hit 40 HRs.

i can’t say that i disagree with that. i don’t think there’s a chance that he ever hits .250, but if something clicks, he’s gonna be massive.

When they should be sacrifice bunting, they are buying effeminate designer jeans. When they should be fouling off pitches, they are masturbating. Always, they are masturbating.

by variablesdont on Jan 10, 2009 2:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well there were Bo Jackson comps thrown on Hewitt before the draft but have you seen him hit? There is a 1% he hits his ceiling in my opinion. I mean to say “I don’t think there is ever a chance he hits .250” is very telling, how many MLB stars never hit .250 in their careers? Not to mention he doesn’t have the eye/patience/strike-zone control to take many walks so if he is hitting .230 then his OBP is likely to be below .300 as well. Then of course there is always defensive and his almost inevitable move to the OF.

Add all of that up + the fact that he is already 19 and turning 20 before the season begins and you have a real project on your hands. Hewitt did the right thing by signing but he probably should have went to college to refine his skills. He K’d in 50% of his ABs in his debut, I could easily see him being 22 or even 23 before even remotely doing well in A+ at the current pace he is going.

You are right that if everything connects, he could be a massive talent but I’m honestly not even sure that has a 1% chance of happening.

by jfish26101 on Jan 10, 2009 2:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"have you seen him hit"

Just wondering how much you have seen of him.

by Southwest on Jan 11, 2009 9:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Body

He is currently listed at 6’1 & 245 lbs. Ozzie Guillen made it clear upon Viciedo’s signing that he needs to drop significant weight. From what I’ve read, Viciedo wants to drop 15 lbs and settle in around 230. Even then, I think that might be much for a 19 year old.

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jan 10, 2009 1:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

2008 Draft Class

I would rank the following players ahead Dayan Viciedo at this point:

Tim Beckham
Pedro Alvarez
Eric Hosmer
Brian Matusz
Buster Posey
Yonder Alonso
Gordon Beckham
Aaron Crow
Justin Smoak
Brett Wallace
Ethan Martin
Kyle Skipworth
Aaron Hicks
Brett Lawrie

Viciedo has an intriguing upside based on the hype, but aside from that, we dont have much to go on.

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jan 10, 2009 1:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

crow

never signed

by PhillyPhanatic on Jan 10, 2009 2:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

That seems about right to take him after those guys. Maybe after Jason Castro as well due to positional scarcity – he was an overdraft but could probably be an above-average MLB catcher.

by FI2 on Jan 10, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Viciedo

I’ve watched a few videos on Viciedo and he looks like a beast. However, I think I need to see something more recent to gage his weight. If he’s already 6’1", 248 lbs at 19, what does that say about his longevity and future position? The fact that the Sox are asking him to shed pounds already is a really bad sign.

Mike Newman
baseballhandyman.com

by Baseball Handyman on Jan 10, 2009 2:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

As I said in the Sox thread: No way does he stick at third.

by thejd44 on Jan 10, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't forget about Castro

Position scarcity, and he will be an above average catcher.

by byronlhsdrmr on Jan 10, 2009 3:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'd also say other guys...

Like Melville, David Cooper, Ike Davis, and yes, Castro belong ahead of him. Noting the the negligible amount of Cuban/Dominican potential players who ever end up being something (hmm hmm Wily Mo Pena) I can’t in good faith even rank him above a high school pitcher. Adding to that is his weight problem and inability to stay at 3B.

He is still a beast, a wellspring of potential. But there’s TONS of work to do on him.

by maneatingbaby on Jan 11, 2009 10:32 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tough to gauge

I could put him as high as the top 10 or as low as 30. The weight concerns me and makes it likely that he’ll need to move off the hot corner to either corner outfield or 1B, however, he has plenty of potential. I would put him around 20th. He seems to have boom or bust written all over him which means whoever drafts him will likely be very happy or upset they selected him.

by mg050369 on Jan 11, 2009 10:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs