Angel Villalona: Former Top Prospect Rejoins San Francisco Giants Organization

The San Francisco Giants organization, as a whole, caught a break on Friday when they received word that talented prospect Angel Villalona would rejoin the ballclub.

Villalona had been charged with murder in his native Dominican Republic in 2009. The charges were dismissed earlier this summer.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman broke the news, adding that he was surprised that Villalona plans on rejoining the Giants organization, as Villalona had figured to be out of San Francisco's future plans due to the legal issues.

The current plan, according to Schulman, is for Villalona to be reinstated into the Giants system, barring the resolution of a $5 million breach of contract lawsuit. He was last in Single-A San Jose in 2009.

The 21-year-old first baseman was a key part of the Giants' future plans up until the 2009 murder allegations, and was ranked by many websites as the team's top prospect.

In 2009, he hit .267 with 42 RBI in 74 games in Single-A San Jose.

This is clearly a huge boost to the Giants farm system and future, if what Schulman claims is true. San Francisco gets one of their top prospects back, but in what kind of shape, I do not know.

The man is still only 21 years old and was well on his way to being promoted through the Giants farm system in the coming year.

By my judgment, I would say that Villalona would be playing in Triple-A Fresno right now and be in real consideration for the September 40-man roster, had everything gone according to plan.

Unfortunately, it did not.

Hopefully, Villalona could rejoin the ball club in similar shape, as his physical shape was always an issue with his 6'3", 215-pound frame. He had been held in jail for three months before bail.

I would not expect much from Villalona, although it is always great news when a former top prospect rejoins a team. I would expect the Giants to start over with him in the organization, and maybe we could see him in Triple-A Fresno or the big leagues within the next two to three years, if we are being optimistic.

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