Fernando Villegas Jr.

Fernando Villegas Luna

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 176 lb.

• Born June 28, 1998 in Saltillo, Coahuila Mexico

BR register page

Biographical Information

Fernando Villegas Jr. has played in the minors and for the Mexican national team. He is the son of Fernando Villegas Sr.

He was signed by Pittsburgh Pirates scout Roberto Saucedo. In his minor league debut, he hit .296/.409/.443 for the GCL Pirates, with 38 chances error-free as a backup corner outfielder. He split 2019 between the West Virginia Black Bears (.219/.305/.356 in 21 games), Bristol Pirates (.319/.372/.472 in 18 G) and GCL Pirates (0 for 4, 4 BB). He hit .286/.318/.429 that winter for the Charros de Jalisco in his Mexican Pacific League debut. He was 1 for 12 with a walk for Jalisco in 2020-2021.

In 2021, he played for the Saraperos de Saltillo, his father's old team, batting .364/.482/.682 in 8 games. In the 2021 U-23 Baseball World Cup, he was 0 for 7 with 3 walks, a run and a RBI. He hit .212/.257/.273 that winter for Jalisco. Becoming a starter in 2022, he hit .346/.400/.545 with ten triples and 71 runs in 80 games. He won the Mexican League triple title by two, matching his father's feat from 1995. He batted .337/.399/.519 with 5 triples in 63 games that winter for the Charros. He was third in average (behind Roberto Valenzuela and Justin Dean), tied Leo Heras for third in triples, 2nd to Valenzuela in slugging (by .013), 3rd in OBP (behind Valenzuela and Dean) and 2nd to Valenzuela in OPS. He was 2 for 14 with 8 whiffs for the Cañeros de Los Mochis in the 2023 Caribbean Series, driving in a pair.

Starting 2023 on fire for Saltillo (.417/.473/.614 after 47 G), he made Mexico's squad for the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games. He dazzled from day one. He drew a walk from Cuba's Carlos Viera his first time up and came around to score. His next trip to the plate, he singled and scored. He was 3-for-3 with a walk, 3 runs and a RBI in the win. He homered off Wilfredo Ramirez of El Salvador the next game, then was 2 for 2 with a HBP and another homer (off Fidencio Flores) versus Nicaragua. In game 4, Mexico's only loss, his two-run triple off Yelmison Peralta drove in both Mexican runs. He then went deep twice and drove in all five Mexican runs in beating defending champion Puerto Rico, with a two-run shot off Andrés Santiago and a three-run dinger against Christian Torres. Facing fellow 4-1 Venezuela, he was 2 for 4 with a walk, two runs and a RBI to finish the tournament at .611/.667/1.444 with four homers, ten runs and 13 RBI in six contests, handling 10 chances error-free to boot. He played a huge role in Mexico's first Gold medal in an international baseball tournament after ten Silvers in the prior 97 years. He led the event in average (.111 ahead of Kenen Irizarry), runs (two ahead of Yurisbel Gracial), triples (1, tied for first), homers (Roel Santos and Adrian Valerio were the only others with more than one, each at two), RBI (5 ahead of Santos, Valerio and Emmanuel Avila), total bases (26, 5 more than Yoelkis Guibert), OBP (.015 ahead of Norberto Obeso), slugging (an amazing .506 ahead of runner-up Santos) and OPS (649 ahead of Santos). He tied for third with 11 hits, even with Dayán García.