Chicago White Sox Player Review: Dayan Viciedo
Aug 31, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Dayan Viciedo hits a single against the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
The season of Dayan Viciedo, the right fielder of the Chicago White Sox was not one to brag much about for the South Siders, but it did have some production.
Viciedo, who just wrapped up his fourth season, batted .231 with 21 home runs and 58 RBIs. His on-base percentage was just .281 in 145 games.
The overall numbers of Viciedo dropped in some areas in ’14. His ’13 numbers were: .265 batting average, .304 OBP, 56 RBIs and 14 home runs in 124 games.
What hurt about “Tank” this season was he has potential to be a very good player on this roster, but his numbers just aren’t helping his cause if he wants to stay on the roster of the White Sox in ’15.
In a closer look at his numbers, of his 121 hits (523 at-bats), he had 25 extra-base hits (excluding home runs) with 22 doubles and three triples.
I don’t expect him to be a triples machine, but with his power and strength, a few more doubles would have been nice.
Looking at his play when there were runners in scoring position, Viciedo in 152 plate appearances had a .217 batting average in those situations. Breaking down that average, he had 30 hits with RISP, including four doubles, one triple and six home runs.
His play with RISP gave him six RBIs. He also walked 10 times in those RISP situations, along with striking out 31 times.
I’m not even worried about his batting average, because with a nickname like “Tank,” I don’t see him hitting near .300, but more than 21 home runs per season would be nice.
Jul 31, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Dayan Viciedo (24) reacts after striking out in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Viciedo also struck out 122 times and had just 32 walks, so he was basically a younger version of Adam Dunn.
At the start of the season, it looked like this was going to be the year Tank finally played up to his potential with a .348 batting average the first month of the season, with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and nine RBIs.
From there, from May-September, Viciedo never batted more than .229 in a single month, including June when he batted .163 with three home tuns and 21 strikeouts.
One stat that kind of jumps out is Viciedo’s WAR (wins above replacement), which is at -0.9. Compare his WAR to Jose Abreu‘s, which is at 5.5 in just his first season in the majors.
In the field, Viciedo has a fielding average of .965 with eight errors in 215 opportunities.
The thing with Viciedo is he is only 25 years old, so if you were the White Sox, would you give him another year to see if he’s able to get over the hump so to speak, and become a more reliable player?
I believe the White Sox will give him one more year in the lineup to see if this is “the year” that he figures everything out to just become a little more consistent at the plate.