I'm sold on Dayan Viciedo.
At least as a hitter. Defensively, he looked raw in two of the three times he was tested. He played a grounder off his chest (but recovered in time to throw out the runner at first), and then took an awkward route on a chopper in which a fraction of a second would've helped. He did snag a rocket, gloving it across his body.
At the plate -- the guy is a beast. You can tell Viciedo apart from the rest of the hitters on the field at Five County Stadium merely by the sound of the ball against his bat. Even his choppers have an echo, and that's what tells me that I didn't just see him on a good night.
He went 3-for-5, and it should've been 4-for-5. He roped a liner to left, but Christian Marrero couldn't tell if it was caught. He retreated to second, but with a runner on first, it made for an easy 7-5 fielder's choice.
Otherwise, he went to all fields: A single to right-center (preceded by an opposite-field foul ball that had home-run distance), a groundout to third, the aforementioned liner to left, a double to left-center, and a single to right that was hit too hard to go for extra bases.
You want video? Here it is!
Conveniently for me, Viciedo showcased the latest development to his game. It's almost like he's following a monthly schedule, because here's how he has developed:
- April: Complete hackery.
- May: Improved contact.
- June: More walks.
- July: More power.
For a 20-year-old in Double-A who's adjusting to a completely different professional and social culture, the progress is impressive. The power, even more so. This had to be what White Sox scouts saw to encourage Kenny Williams to give him a four-year, $11 million. The conditioning and positioning issues will present problems, but he has the ability to out-hit either, and that should be the primary focus.
Other guys:
*Jordan Danks didn't get in on the Barons' 18-hit attack, going 0-for-5 with a walk. He showed good strike zone recognition in his first plate appearance, falling behind 0-2 before laying off four straight pitches out of the zone, but couldn't find middle ground between 4-3s and flyballs to left-center. The Ryan Sweeney comparisons are apt, with the pretty swing and long-striding running style.
*C.J. Retherford is a funny-looking ballplayer, a stumpy guy who looks stumpier with high socks. He deserves a long look at Triple-A, because it's apparent that his awful June (.602 OPS) was merely an aberration. He's cleared .300 with his batting average in every other month. He went 2-for-5 with a soft bloop single and a roped double, and also tried to dislodge the ball from the catcher on a play at the plate. He was only successful in separating the catcher from his helmet.
*Christian Marrero made great contact all night long, starting his night with a no-doubt homer and finishing a triple short of the cycle (4-for-5). Maybe Carolina pitching is more to blame, because...
*Jim Gallagher doesn't look like a guy who's spent most of his year failing to distinguish himself in Winston-Salem. He hooked a homer just inside the right-field foul pole, and is now hitting .455.
I still stand by my statement regarding Viciedo. Here's the box score.
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Minor league roundup:
- Charlotte 6, Pawtucket 4
- Josh Fields went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
- Brent Lillibridge raised his average over .250 with a 2-for-5 night.
- Wes Whisler allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over eight innings, striking out two.
- Jhonny Nunez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save with one strikeout.
- Wilmington 5, Winston-Salem 1 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Tyler Kuhn went 1-for-3; Brent Morel was 0-for-3.
- Tyson Corley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
- Wilmington 1, Winston-Salem 0 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Same results for Kuhn and Morel.
- Dylan Axelrod allowed one run over 5 1/3 innins, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out one.
- Johnson City 9, Bristol 4
- Steven Upchurch struggled: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR.
- Same with Taylor Thompson, who allowed four runs on four hits over two innings.
- Two-hit games for Ryan Lee, Kyle Davis, Daniel Wagner and Robert Vaughn.
- Casper 8, Great Falls 7
- Zach Kayne tripled, walked twice and three runs.
- Nick Ciolli and Kyle Colligan both went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
