Angel Villalona
San Francisco Giants — No. --
First basemen
Born: August 13, 1990 (1990-08-13) (age 19) La Romana, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right

Angel Miguel Villalona (born August 13, 1990 in La Romana, Dominican Republic) is a first baseman in the San Francisco Giants organization, who started scouting him when he was just 13 [1]. He was signed in 2006 and received a club-record $2.1 million signing bonus. Several reports said the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox were also heavily involved in bidding for Villalona, with the Mariners bidding $3 million, which would have shattered the previous record. Villalona was originally listed as a third baseman, but shifted to first base due to his considerable frame, which is listed at 6'3", 220 pounds. He is consistently rated by many baseball websites as the Giants #1 prospect. ^[1] Baseball America currently lists him as the #33 prospect in baseball, and is also the youngest among their top 100 prospects.^[2] On September 20th it was reported Villalona is the main suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man in the Dominican Republic.^[3]

Contents 1 2007 season 2 2008 season 3 2009 season 4 References 5 External links

[edit] 2007 season

Wanting to successfully acclimate the 16-year-old phenom to living in the United States and playing professional baseball, the Giants assigned him to Extended Spring Training with the idea of sending him to Rookie Ball or Short-Season Ball later in the minor league season.

He was then assigned to the AZL Giants of the Rookie Arizona League as a 3rd baseman, hitting .264 and with an OPS in excess of .800 through July 30, 2007. Villalona was projected to be "an elite power hitter" by Project Prospect[2].

[edit] 2008 season

Villalona started the year with the Augusta GreenJackets and was named to the 2008 All-Star Futures Game in which he went 0 for 2.

[edit] 2009 season

Villalona started the year with the San Jose Giants, a class A Advanced team in the Northern Division of the California League.

On September 20, 2009, it was announced by the police in the Dominican Republic that Villalona was a suspect in the murder of Mario Felix de Jesus Velete. Villalona turned himself in and could face up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. [3]

[edit] References

TEST

[edit] External links

• Big Kid, Big Hopes, by John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved on October 25, 2006
• Giants Give Big Bonus To "Big V", by John Manuel, Baseball America.com, retrieved on June 18, 2007

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