[Pssst! Keep it down but this isn’t even an editor’s note. I’m interrupting myself. Or at least one of myselves. Wanna play Fantasy Baseball with all these goons you see in the comments? Well Go be a Commissioner. We can’t promise your safety but we can promise you’ll have fun. We all know dangerous = fun. That’s why all the bad boys get the hot chicks. So go commish, you wild animal you.]
Sing it with me! Villar, Villar…the speed of the Astros! Ok, maybe we shouldn’t call it singing. More like gravel-throated barfing on the mic. Thank your deity of choice for delay, compression and a poop-ton of reverb or you’d never get to hear the inner-workings of great minds like Fred Durst who has done it all for the nookie and put cookies in places we never would’ve imagined. Speaking of putting cookies in places that would surprise you…uh…Jonathan Villar is a cookie. Yeah, that’s it! A chocolate chip, macadamia nut infused, tasty morsel that is tucked away because he plays on an Astros team that has more nicknames about how bad it is – AAAstros, LAstros, ‘You can’t say Astros without saying ass’ Astros, etc – than it does different jersey types. And yes, before we move on, I do look familiar. Or maybe unfamiliar depending on who you are. I’m one of those guys on the Fantasy Football side of the Razzball universe. That little link takes you to a world where you get to see my grainy face more than maybe you’d ever want to but it’s there either way, gratis. Heck everything on this site is free, of course…except the awkward hugs that last too long. WordPress, how many words am I at? Over 200 you say? Right, then lets get on with it. Here’s why I like Villar in deep league settings for the 2014 Fantasy Baseball season…
Deep leagues make it important to find value late in your draft and in order to do that, you have to look at comparables. And here they are: 50.2 to 63.1 and .243 to .252. Boom, son! Analysis done! *Looks up the definition of comparison* Oh, right, gotta tell you what I’m talking about I guess. The first stat is how many steals Villar would’ve ended 2013 with had he played a full 162 game season. Nice, intriguing, and other superlatives. The second stat was of Everth Cabrera and his 2013 had it been a full 162 game slate. Yeah, 13 steals is a pretty decent gap I’ll admit but I’d like to point out how much of a spread there is between these two in terms of draft order. Though I haven’t seen any ADP that’s valuable as of this typing, I’m seeing at least a 10 spot gap between Villar and Cabrera in terms of where they’re ranked at the shortstop position. If it weren’t for EverCab’s out of nowhere average last year – which came with a dramatically trimmed strikeout rate – we’d be talking about the same player. Which brings me to the next stat I mentioned: that was their career averages at the major league level. Sure, one has a smaller sample size than the other – I’m sure it gets embarrassing when they’re in the locker room together – but there’s some uncanny resemblances to how both started their careers and some underlying stats. They’re both speedy shortstops who have great walk rates and came into the league with a penchant for striking out at a 20%+ rate. Of course, I’m not telling you Villar will miraculously match E-Cab’s reduced K rates and become a fantasy short stop stud but I am willing to tell you that these are blurred lines here and even Mr. Thicke can see it. If Villar steals 40 to 45 bases and hits .235 along the way, I wouldn’t be surprised. Oh and maybe you’re just rolling your eyes and farting in my general direction at this point. But you know who else likes him? Our very own Rudy Gamble and Mike. So if there’s crazy up in these Razzball hills, then at least I’m not the only one. Now pardon me while I go listen to some Papa Roach.
Sky Sperling is a contributor for Razzball Football and Razzball Baseball. He’s also a lover of fine beer, fine women and fine-toothed combs. You can follow him on twitter @Sky_Razzball and in your most sweetest of dreams.
