Meet Your Newest Cuban Import

Baseball just held it's amateur draft last week, and teams all around the league now have their newest prospects to over-hype before trading them away and watching them become nothing in other cities. It's a wonderful tradition in the sport of baseball, right up there doubleheaders and bench-clearing brawls.

Of course, another one of baseball's oldest most grand traditions is players escaping from Cuba and coming to America in hopes of achieving their dreams of becoming Major League Baseball players. You're newest Cuban import is 19-year old Dayan Viciedo, who just recently came to the United States and is already growing buzz worthy.

Viciedo left Cuba on a boat bound for Mexico on May 20, accompanied by his family. Several days later he crossed the border from Mexico and traveled to Miami to reunite with friends and relatives.

''Most Cuban ball players dream of playing in the major leagues,'' he said. ``This is an aspiration that comes with risks, but I was willing to take them in order to try out. Inside, you have the desire to know if you have a place among the best in the world, if you belong to the elite.''

Born March 10, 1989, in the town of Remedios, in the central Cuba province of Villa Clara, Viciedo is regarded as the best Cuban baseball player in the past eight years after Kendry Morales, who defected in 2004 and now plays in the Los Angeles Angels' system.

''Dayán is going to spark a lot of talk in the majors,'' said his agent, Puerto Rican lawyer Jaime Torres.

``He has arrived with youth, he is very versatile and his conditioning is exceptional. We will soon see him wearing the uniform of a major league team.''

Viciedo was a very versatile player in Cuba, as he's projected to be capable of playing either third base, shortstop, and the outfield. He can even pitch, as he's had his fastball clocked at over 90MPH, but Dayan says his pitching days are behind him.

Word is that the Yankees are already interested, but with all the teams in the league who are looking for a third baseman right now, I doubt they'll be the only team kicking Viciedo's tires. Of course, if the Yankees did sign Viciedo it's doubtful they'd sign him to play third base. They've already got some guy named Alex Rodriguez over there, and word is that guy has a world of potential.