Hahn: The Time To Break Out Is Now For Viciedo
(WSCR) Three years into Dayan Viciedo's career with the White Sox, and the right-handed slugger is primed for a breakout season.
In 214 games over three seasons, Viciedo has hit 31 home runs with 97 RBIs and a .263 batting average. The 24-year-old Cuban defector began to emerge in 2012 - his first full season in the majors - when he hit 25 home runs with 78 RBIs behind a .255 batting average.
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn thinks 2013 is going to be a big year for Viciedo.
"I think you're right - this is going to be the year that Viciedo takes the next step," Hahn told The McNeil and Spiegel Show. "The power to all fields is obvious. You come out, you see him in batting practice, or you just see him during the course of the 2012 season, you see that he has pole-to-pole power. I think that the leg kick - the mechanical adjustment that Jeff Manto and Harold Baines added to Dayan's approach this past offseason - is going to help him stay back in the box a little bit longer, stay back a little bit and keep his weight more balanced, especially on off-speed pitches, which should make him put the ball in play more, cut down on the strikeouts, increase the average, increase the on-base and make him a more well-rounded player."
Rick Hahn On The McNeil and Spiegel Show
Hahn also addressed the status of John Danks, who will start the season the 15-day disabled list as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery.
"There is no specific timetable," Hahn said. "He has come a tremendously long way in a short period of time from the August surgery. Unfortunately, with shoulder surgeries in pitchers, there just isn't a linear timeline from surgical date to returning to 100 percent form and (being) major-league ready. He made a start in extended spring training on Friday and it went well. He felt good, which is nice. He's going to make another couple of starts down there in extended (spring training) and see how the arm strength responds, see how the stuff, the command comes back, and see where he is mechanically. Hopefully, after another two, three starts down there, we'll be able to get him out on a rehab assignment."
