Jonathan Rafael Villar Roque (born May 2, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.
He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Phillies, hitting .271 with one home run, 21 RBI, and 27 stolen bases across 62 appearances.
[1] Villar split the 2009 campaign between the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Phillies and Low-A Williamsport Crosscutters.
[2] Villar began the 2010 campaign with the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws, playing in 100 games and batting .272/.332/.359 with two home runs, 36 RBI, and 38 stolen bases.
Villar played for the Oklahoma City RedHawks in 2013, and was named the Astros' minor league hitter of the month for June 2013.
Villar played very well for the first half of the season despite the team's struggles, posting a .298 batting average, 6 home runs and a league-leading 19 stolen bases before the All-Star Break.
He finished the year with 62 stolen bases, leading the league, four more than Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds, along with a .285 average, 62 RBIs, and 19 home runs.
Defensive struggles and the emergence of rookie outfielder Brett Phillips resulted in Villar once again returning to a bench role.
At the trade deadline on July 31, 2018, Villar, along with minor leaguers Luis Ortiz and Jean Carmona, was sent to the Baltimore Orioles by the Brewers who acquired Jonathan Schoop for its postseason run.
He hit a triple and a double in the third and fifth innings respectively off Masahiro Tanaka, a two-run homer in the sixth off Tommy Kahnle that had tied the game at 6–6 and a single in the ninth off Aroldis Chapman.
[14] Along with Starlin Castro, Whit Merrifield, Marcus Semien and Jorge Soler, he was one of only five players to appear in all 162 games in 2019.
[20] Villar hit his first spring training home run as a Met on March 7, off of Miami Marlins pitcher Yimi García.