Francisco Acuña

Francisco Fernando Acuña Rocha

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 150 lb.

• Born January 12, 2000 in Barranquilla, Atlántico Colombia

BR register page

Biographical Information

Francisco Acuña has played as high as AAA and has been on the Colombian national team.

He was signed by Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Rene Gayo, Orlando Covo and José Mosquera in July 2016. He made his pro debut with the 2017 DSL Pirates, hitting .201/.386/.291 with 53 walks in 58 games, going 19-for-22 in steal attempts, scoring 40 runs and fielding .948 at short. Despite playing in a short-season league, he was 6th among Bucco farmhands in steals (between Pablo Reyes and Garrett Brown) and 6th in walks (between Cole Tucker and Jerrick Suiter). He was third in the Dominican Summer League in walks, trailing only Geraldo Perdomo and Sherten Apostel, both of whom would make the majors.

In 2018, he hit .230/.310/.28 as a utility infielder for the GCL Pirates. With the Bristol Pirates the next summer, he batted .293/.362/.431 with 20 doubles in 53 games, fielding .953 at short. He tied Miguel Hiraldo for the Appalachian League lead in doubles and was 8th in average (between Vinnie Pasquantino and Andres Regnault). He was named the league's All-Star second baseman even though he had only played four games there! He was the starting shortstop for the Vaqueros de Montería in the 2020 Caribbean Series, going 3-for-18. He got the first RBI for a Colombian League player in a Caribbean Series (Colombia was debuting that year) when his single off the Cardenales de Lara's Logan Darnell in the third drove in Robinson Cabrera.

The 2020 minor league season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021 Caribbean Series, he was 0-for-7 with 3 walks for his hometown Caimanes de Barranquilla, backing up Brallan Pérez at 2B and Evan Mendoza at 3B. When minor league ball returned in 2021, he had a rough time with the Bradenton Marauders (.208/.382/.307 in 39 G) and Greensboro Grasshoppers (.160/.282/.270 in 31 G). In '22, he hit .271/.361/.452 with 18 doubles in 63 games for Greensboro, fielding .972 as their main shortstop.

His third Caribbean Series was his best yet as he hit .353/.450/.441 with nine runs in nine games for the Vaqueros in the 2023 Caribbean Series. He was 4-for-4 with 3 runs against Puerto Rico and was among the Series leaders in runs (tied for first with Gustavo Campero), hits (12, tied Emmanuel Rivera for 3rd), doubles (3, tied for 5th), steals (2, tied for 7th) and OBP. He was named the All-Star second baseman (though he had also seen action at third).

He split that summer between Greensboro (.277/.363/.412 in 33 G), Bradenton (.180/.313/.180 in 17 G) and the Indianapolis Indians (2 for 7, 2B). After the season ended, he joined Colombia for the 2023 Pan American Games. Starting at short, he came up big against Panama with a spot in the Gold Medal Game at stake. He singled off Severino González with a 1-1 tie in the final inning and was driven in by Fabián Pertuz with the winning run. He was 2-for-4 in their Gold Medal Game win over Brazil as Colombia won their first Pan American Games Gold in baseball. He finished at .375/.400/.458 with 5 runs in 6 games, fielding perfectly in 22 chances. He tied Emmanuel Ávila, Pertuz and Fernando Villegas Jr. for 3rd in the Games in runs, tied Pertuz, Villegas and Dilson Herrera for second with nine hits (two behind Carlos Arroyo), led with two steals, tied for 7th in doubles (2) and was second to Lucas Rojo in assists.