When his name was called at the 2007 NYLISL Draft on February 3, the general atmosphere quickly became one of shock and disbelief. One rival GM openly mocked the selection, saying that it meant "one more first round player is still on the board."

But when the St. Jack's Demons chose Carlos Villanueva with their first selection (fourth overall), Owner/GM Jack Flynn saw a four-inning reliever with a 14/14 that had the potential to dominate the league unlike any other reliever in the NYLISL. Now, 15 games into the season, Flynn must be having his doubts. St. Jack's is 10-5, but Villanueva has been the unluckiest pitcher in the league. He's 0-2 with an 8.14 ERA in five appearances, but the numbers don't tell the whole story.

The big knock on Villanueva was his tendency to give up home runs and so far this season he has done just that - four dingers in just 17.2 innings. However, all four home runs have been on the batter's card, which Carlos knows he can't control. The low point of the season came on May 12, when Villanueva gave up nine runs in 4.2 innings against the Riffs. Eight of those runs scored in a wild sixth inning that saw Riffs Owner/GM Tim Walsh hit a three-run ballpark homer (a 1-4 chance) off Ryan Church's card. It was the third of what turned out to be an unprecedented eight straight rolls on a Riff batter's card - all hits or walks charged to Villanueva. Only three rolls in that fateful sixth inning landed on Villanueva's card - and all of them were outs.

Villanueva is trying to keep his spirits up, but is undoubtedly feeling the pressure that comes from being a controversial first-round pick. For his part, Flynn has retained confidence in Villanueva, even increasing his workload by placing fellow long man Hector Carrasco into the rotation.