Viciedo could also end up in right field. His body has gotten bigger over the years and a move to the outfield might be necessary.
Jermaine Dye has been Chicago's right fielder for the last several seasons and his name has been thrown around in trade talks this winter.
Viciedo's agent Jaime Torres said in a recent Chicago Sun-Times article that "scouts have told me that there's no reason that he shouldn't be hitting 35-40 home runs a year."
4. Brandon Allen, 1B, 2/12/1986
Allen has been slow to develop since being drafted out of high school in 2004, but he's come on in the last couple years.
A hulking presence at 6'2" and 235 pounds, Allen had a breakout season in 2008, spending time with Winston-Salem and Birmingham.
In 472 at bats, he ripped 32 doubles and clubbed 29 homers while hitting a combined .278 with 60 walks and 124 K.
For a big man, he showed surprising speed, legging out six triples and going 17-for-21 in stolen base attempts.
He's shown an improving eye at the plate—in 44 fewer AB in 2008, he drew 21 more walks than he did in 2007 and he played in higher levels last year.
Allen will likely spend 2009 with AAA-Charlotte and could be an option at 1B/DH in 2010.
Paul Konerko and Jim Thome currently man those spots—the former being signed through 2010 and the latter through 2009.
5. Chris Getz, 2B, 8/30/1983
Getz was drafted in the fifth round in the 2005 draft and has little left to prove in the minors.
Getz spent all of last season with Charlotte and hit .306 with a line of .366/.448/.814. He collected 36 extra base hits and went 11-for-15 in stolen base attempts.
He made his big league debut in August and collected a pair of hits in seven at bats the rest of the way.
His best asset is his strike zone discipline. He struck out just 53 times last year and only 142 times in 1,428 career minor league AB. Last year was the first time he ended a season with more strikeouts (53) than walks (41).
With Ramirez moving to short, Getz might challenge Betemit and Jayson Nix for the second base job. He could end up being a stop gap until Beckham is ready.
Getz isn't a big upside guy, but should be at least a long term utility guy.
NOTE: Only players with no more than 130 AB/50 IP in the majors qualify for this list.
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