Jonathan Villar on 20-20 chance: "It would be unbelievable"

After he homered last night, Orioles infielder Jonathan Villar now needs just two homers to join a select group. Villar has 28 steals to rank third in the American League. If he can hit two more home runs, he'll become the sixth player in Orioles history with 20 or more homers and steals in the same year.

"I don't really think too much about that," Villar said this afternoon. "It would be unbelievable to do that. But if I think about hitting homers, I won't hit any homers. I don't want to change my swing at all, so trying not to think about that."

He hit No. 18 in the eighth last night for the lone run in a 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Villar hit a 420-foot shot to center off a 90 mph fastball from Aaron Slegers.

Now he is trying to join this list:
* Paul Blair, 1969 (26 homers, 20 stolen bases)
* Don Baylor, 1975 (25 homers, 32 stolen bases)
* Reggie Jackson, 1976 (27 homers, 28 stolen bases)
* Brady Anderson (20-homer, 20-stolen base seasons in 1992, 1996, 1999)
* Manny Machado, 2015: (35 homers, 20 stolen bases)

"Stealing bases and running is my game," said Villar. "Hopefully, I can add some power too. I need to use my skills to run a lot."

This season in the majors, Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr., Pittsburgh's Starling Marte, Cleveland's José Ramírez and Milwaukee's Christian Yelich have already recorded a 20/20.

Villar has played every game this season, all 129. For the year, he's batting .276/.348/.456 with 28 doubles, four triples, 18 homers, 58 RBIs and an OPS of .804.

"He's really playing good baseball offensively," manager Brandon Hyde said. "He's going to be a potential 20-20 guy. That's not easy to do. He's got so many tools. Love his tools. Think he's been a little bit more consistent offensively in the second half. Huge power, especially from the left side. And obviously has the speed tool.

"He's just taking better at-bats in the second half and his OPS is rising. It's around .800 right now. Just done a really nice job. Like to see him get more stolen bases. But we've been behind so much this year. If we were a team that was playing with the lead quite a bit, he'd probably have 40. He'd be a higher stolen-base guy on a better club."

Villar has definitely stepped up his game in the second half. Before the All-Star Game, he hit .259/.326/.421 with a .747 OPS. In 40 games since the break, he's batting .313/.392/.531 with 11 steals in 13 tries and a.924 OPS.

Hyde said Villar's defense has made some strides this year too.

"I think he's been more consistent defensively. Think he still has his moments. But he's been playing a better shortstop here in the second half," he said.

Villar will be heading for his last season of arbitration eligibility this winter. If the O's offer him arbitration they can keep him at least through the 2020 season, and then he can be a free agent.

Villar is playing for $4.825 million this season, and the price will certainly rise via arbitration. So the Orioles will have some decisions to make on Villar this winter.

"I know it's my last time for arbitration," Villar said today. "But it's too soon to think about that right now. I just want to finish this season strong."