What on earth?
Who knew that instead of drafting Carlos Correa in the first round in
2016, you could have gone with Jonathan Villar off the waiver wire instead and
ended up with the much better statistical season. The fact you would have likely been kicked
out of your league for taking Villar even as high as Round 8 last season tells
you how unexpected his insane five-category bonanza season was. Previously a failed Houston Astros prospect
who batted just .243 and .209 his first two years in the majors, the light bulb
for Villar seemed to go off in 2015 while he was playing for the team’s
Triple-A affiliate. It wasn’t until
Villar got a much-needed fresh start with the Milwaukee Brewers (after coming
over via trade) for the 2016 season that the speedster’s full potential began
to manifest itself. The rest as they say
is history as Villar went nuts to the tune of setting career-highs in all five
standard league categories. Operating out
of the team’s leadoff spot, Villar batted .285, scored 92 runs, and ran all
year long to the tune of an MLB-leading 62 stolen bases. Perhaps the most shocking development of all
was the fact Villar smacked 19 home runs and collected 63 RBI. Considering that from 2013-15, Villar hit a
TOTAL of 26 home runs between the minors and majors, one can see just how
spectacular a feat that was. While it
may be tough to believe in the totality of his numbers, Villar’s massive speed
should never be debated and his pure hitting skills have really come along from
his Astros days when you see a BB/9 rate last season of 11.6. With Villar waiting for his pitch like never
before, the hits began piling up and the average went northward. Now as far as the power is concerned, yes it
might be tough to buy into 19 home runs again but keep in mind last season that
Villar was just starting to reach his prime at the age of 25. He won’t turn 26 until this May and so Villar
is now just getting into his optimum power years. Yes it would be a better idea to expect 15
home runs this season and to consider anything more than that a nice bonus but
the total package of Villar is beyond impressive. We are on the side that says Villar is a
legit talent who should be picked during the initial first five rounds of your
draft.
2017
PROJECTION: .278 17 HR 56 RBI 90 R 54
SB
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