Angel Villalona

2013

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2012

Villalona was recently cleared of murder charges and after threatening to sue the Giants afterward, he reached an agreement with the team and was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason. While he clearly possesses enough upside that it made sense to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, Villalona hasn’t played baseball since 2009 and despite the high signing bonus at such a young age, he’s exhibited terrible plate discipline and looks like an extreme long shot to eventually make a major impact, although it’s worth noting he’s still just 21 years old.

2009

Playing for Low-A Augusta, Villalona hit 17 homers with 64 RBI over 464 at-bats, finishing with a .747 OPS. His accompanying 118:18 K:BB ratio was extremely disconcerting, but Villalona is still just 18. His ability to stay in shape has been questioned, and it looks like his defensive liabilities will limit him to first base, but his bat possesses plenty of upside. He’s still a long way from contributing in San Francisco, however.

2008

Villalona was signed at age 16 from the Dominican Republic last year and is an advanced power-hitting prospect with enormous potential. The Giants naturally intend to bring him along slowly to help him mature on and off the field. Villalona has been getting a number of reps at first base in the Instructional League this fall. He committed 18 errors in 52 games at third base in the Arizona Rookie League and is a big guy (6-3, 200 at age 17), so this is a likely positional move for him anyhow. He might already qualify as the Giants’ best prospect but is obviously a long way from helping the major league team.