Chicago White Sox: Can Dayan Viciedo Build off His Hot Streak?

Dayan Viciedo has been on a hot streak in the last week with a seven-game hitting streak. The Chicago White Sox left fielder has put up power numbers he couldn't manage to reach before the streak. White Sox fans may wonder how long he can keep his streak going.

The better question to ask is how Viciedo can build off the streak.

In the last seven games, Viciedo has hit .444 with four home runs and 10 RBI. That's two fewer home runs than he hit in his first two years in a White Sox uniform combined. On May 14, he drove in four runs against the Detroit Tigers, two less than he hit in his 29-game stint at the end of the 2011 season.

He had four multi-hit games in six from May 14 to 19.

Before this streak, Viciedo had trouble hitting consistently and registering significant power. His five home runs in 104 at-bats in 2010 gave White Sox fans hope that he'd become a future slugger, but he followed that up with just one in 2011.

Before the streak started, Viciedo had three home runs in 98 at-bats to go with a bleak .302 slugging percentage.

Now, with Viciedo's slugging percentage at a reasonable .426, all he has to do is keep his head down and continue making good swings. It's that simple. To tell the Cuban bopper that he should select his pitches wisely is to waste one's breath.

His 3.8 at-bats per strikeout won't change much. He's not going to change his approach to hitting after being wired to swing a lot during his development to this point.

Short of teaching him to be patient, the White Sox can simply try to harness his energy and build him up to be a confident slugger. As long as Viciedo's confident in what he's doing, he can slug at a good rate.

Five weeks into his third campaign, it was tempting to give up on the 23-year-old. White Sox fans struggle to believe in a prospect when he's hitting below .200 and slugging below .400. Now, Viciedo's giving fans reason to believe again. He just has to keep doing what comes naturally—swinging hard.