Francisco Villegas

Francisco Javier Villegas Morales

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 185 lb.

• Born March 23, 1978 in San Luis Rio Colorado Mexico

BR Minors page

Francisco Villegas has pitched several years in AAA.

Villegas was 0-1 with a 3.20 ERA for the 2001 Cancun Lobstermen then went 4-4 with three saves and a 2.93 ERA in 2002, allowing only one home run in 61 2/3 IP. That earned him a contract with the New York Yankees. He split 2003 between the Battle Creek Yankees (1-1, Sv, 3.00, 2 H in 6 IP), Tampa Yankees (3-0, 3 Sv, 3.22) and Trenton Thunder (2 R but 11 BB in 10 1/3 IP). The next year, Francisco again was with Tampa (3.09, 2 Sv, 18 BB, 24 K in 23 1/3 IP) and Trenton (1-4, 2 Sv, 5.94, 67 K in 50 IP). His whereabouts for 2005 are unclear.

In 2006, Villegas was back in the Mexican League, going 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes. He moved to the Veracruz Eagle in 2007 and went 3-3 with a save, 4.04 ERA and 43 K in 42 1/3 IP. He was 1-0 with two saves and a 2.45 ERA in 57 games in 2008. He had a rough time in 2009, going 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and 10 walks in 12 innings.

Switching to the Olmecas de Tabasco in 2010, Francisco did a great job as a closer, going 2-1 with 24 saves, a 2.98 ERA and .210 opponent average. He tied Scott Chiasson and Yoel Hernandez for third in the Mexican League in saves. He then helped the Mexican national team win a Silver Medal at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the two games leading up to the finale, he helped wrap up shutout wins over Panama and host Puerto Rico.