Baltimore Orioles Infielder Jonathan Villar Has Been Quite Impressive
The newly-acquired Baltimore Orioles middle infielder Jonathan Villar has made his mark during his time with the Orioles.
The Baltimore Orioles are in full rebuild mode and acquired 15 players, 14 being prospects, during the MLB trade deadline frenzy. The lone veteran in the Baltimore Orioles acquired players is middle infielder Jonathan Villar, who has dazzled in his short time so far with the Orioles as the everyday second baseman.
Villar, 27, was involved in the Orioles last-minute trade that sent Jonathan Schoop to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects Jean Carmona and Luis Ortiz and veteran Villar.
The second baseman went 2-for-5 in his Orioles debut against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 2 with two singles. Villar followed up his two-hit debut with a 3-for-5 performance, including an RBI in the Orioles 11-3 loss against Texas.
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After failing to get a base hit on Saturday, Villar smashed his first home run with the Orioles in the series finale to top off another three-hit game. In his first four games with the Orioles, Villar has accumulated eight hits in 17 at-bats with a home run and two RBIs. Not a bad way to start your Orioles career.
Before being traded to the Orioles, Villar produced a .261/.315/.377 slash line with six home runs, 22 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Villar delivers much-needed speed on the base paths for Baltimore as he led the National League with 62 stolen bases in 2016. He also added career-highs of 19 home runs and 63 RBIs during his 2016 season with the Brewers, along with hitting .285/.369/.457 in 156 games.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter placed Villar No. 3 in the Orioles batting lineup on Sunday with Adam Jones receiving a well-deserved off day and flashed his potential with the Orioles. In all, Villar completed the Texas series with a single, double and stolen base to top off his first home run as an Oriole.
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With Renato Nunez inserted as the Orioles third baseman and Tim Beckham handling the shortstop duties, Villar is expected to be the Orioles starting second baseman until season’s end.