Indians Top 50: #28 Delvi Cid

Delvi Cid - Outfielder
Born: 07/19/1989 - Height: 6'2" - Weight: 170 - Bats: Switch - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	Avg	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	17	DSL Indians	R	65	262	37	79	8	2	1	24	28	49	21	.302	.378	.359	.737
2008	18	GCL Indians	R	35	127	17	38	3	0	0	11	17	28	14	.299	.384	.323	.707
2009	19	Lake County	A	93	362	53	98	11	3	2	27	31	109	33	.271	.338	.334	.672
		Totals		193	751	107	215	22	5	3	62	76	186	68	.286	.360	.341	.701

History: The Indians signed Cid as an undrafted free agent in December 2006 out of the Dominican Republic.  While he only played in 93 games at Low-A Lake County last year, he finished 8^th in the South Atlantic League in stolen bases (33).  One bad month in July when he hit .167 really took away from his numbers as he hit .306 in May, .333 in June, .273 in August, and .320 in September.

Strengths & Opportunities:  The Indians signed Cid as a low profile international free agent who was extremely raw, but they saw the tools and felt he projected well.  He has come a long way since the day they first laid their eyes on him over three years ago when he couldn't even get the ball out of the batting cage from the left side and his arm strength was so poor that he had trouble getting the ball from center field to second base.

So far Cid is looking like one of their better more recent Latin signings.  He is an extremely athletic outfielder with high aptitude who has a game focused on speed and defense.  He is considered the fastest base-runner in the Indians system grading out as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale.  He is an extremely gifted defensive center fielder where he displays good instincts, route-running and uses his plus-plus speed to track down just about everything in the gaps. He is a gold glove caliber defender and the best defender in the Indians system.

As a hitter Cid has little power at this stage of his development, but he has shown the ability to hit for average.  He has a good approach at the plate for his age, and will need to use that as the foundation to build and develop his plate discipline to be a little more patient and draw more walks and cut down on the strikeouts.  He is strictly a slap-hitter right now, but he has the frame to put on more weight and get stronger as he matures. Last year he showed signs he was starting to fill out and get stronger as he added about 15 pounds of weight.  He should continue to fill out more in the coming years which could help him begin pounding the gaps much more consistently and hitting the ball with authority where his blazing speed will be put on display with many more extra base hits.

Near the end of the 2008 season with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League team, Cid severely injured his foot tracking down a ball in the outfield after he slammed into the wall and got his foot caught under the fence. He ended up with a Lisfranc fracture to his foot that sidelined him for over six months.  The injury came at a bad time as the Indians were getting close to calling him up to Lake County for the final month of that season, and he also ended up missing Instructional League and almost all of spring training last year.  He was actually scheduled to open the season as the Lake County starting centerfielder, but he remained in Goodyear, Arizona to continue rehabbing his foot and eventually made it to Lake County by mid-May.

Cid still is very raw and has a lot to learn on how to play the game, which is something the Indians understand is going to take awhile.  He needs a lot of development because players from the Dominican Republic do not play in games until their free agent workouts with teams.  A player with his skill set, what he has to develop are his instincts, his small ball approach, playing the game, getting on-base, creating havoc, and all the things that are a different skill set from his raw tools.  The Indians believe he can do it and feel he has already made great strides in these areas.

Even though he is still learning, he often gets by because of his raw plus-plus speed which helps cover some mistakes on the base paths or outrunning mistakes in the outfield.  He still needs work in the outfield on his reads, routes, and jumps.  In time, as he better develops his skills he is expected to be an elite base-stealer and gold glove caliber defender.  He needs to learn how to be a smarter base-runner by reading the ball off the bat better, getting better secondary leads, and reading a pitchers move to get better jumps on steals.  He also needs a lot of work at the plate, but is to be expected with such a young, talented player with the raw abilities he has.  He would be a player at the top of the lineup the Indians hope can create a lot of uneasiness for pitchers when he gets on base, and a player who can impact a game with his defense.

Outlook:  Cid is a player who went largely unheralded when he was going through the workout and signing process as an international free agent, but now is a player who is starting to turn some heads.  As raw as he is, he has come a long way.  Even with the foot injury a year ago, the Indians are excited with where he is at currently from a development standpoint.  His development and growth is tough to judge from a fan perspective as the stats don't always show progress, but the Indians are doing everything they can to ensure he reaches his potential and becomes the true leadoff centerfielder they believe he has to be.  He likely will open the 2010 season in a return trip to Low-A Lake County as the starting center fielder, but should still see significant time at advanced High-A Kinston this season.

Photo courtesy of Ken Carr

Delvi Cid MinorLeagueBaseball.com page

Delvi Cid Baseball-Reference page

Delvi Cid MinorLeagueSplits.com page

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