Giants' Marco Luciano: Could open '24 as main shortstop
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Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Tuesday that Luciano will be given the chance to open the 2024 season as the team's everyday shortstop, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.
Luciano mostly struggled offensively between his two different stints in the majors this season, but the 22-year-old owns a career .834 OPS in the minors and tallied 15 homers in 74 games this summer between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento. He also has a bit of speed and an improving defensive reputation.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Notches first steal
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Luciano went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 5-1 win over the Dodgers.
The 22-year-old prospect has started the last two games at shortstop with Brandon Crawford (hamstring) on the injured list. Luciano is batting .333 (6-for-18) over six major-league contests but has a .223/.334/.442 slash line over 74 game between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento this year while struggling to stay healthy. Despite those numbers, he could close out the year with a starting role for the Giants. The steal was his first in the majors.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Recalled from Sacramento
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The Giants recalled Luciano from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.
Luciano seems positioned to serve as the Giants' primary shortstop over the final 10 games of the 2023 regular season after the team placed Brandon Crawford (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list Thursday and released Paul DeJong. Luciano is a high-ranking prospect and can use this time as an audition to be the Opening Day starter at short in 2024, though he hasn't been much of a counting stats compiler in either the minors or majors this year.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Returns to Triple-A lineup
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Luciano (hamstring) was reinstated from Triple-A Sacramento's 7-day injured list and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his return to the lineup in Tuesday's 8-1 loss to Sugar Land.
Luciano ended up missing just under a month due to a hamstring strain, but he showed some rust in his return to the Triple-A lineup, donning the Golden Sombrero for the third time this season. The 22-year-old infielder will look to finish the Triple-A season on a high note and could still have a chance to join the big club before the MLB campaign comes to a close.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Out multiple weeks
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The Giants will re-evaluate Luciano (hamstring) in a couple of weeks, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Luciano was expected to join the major-league squad when he came out of Tuesday's game at Triple-A Sacramento, but it was later revealed he suffered a strained hamstring. The fact that he will be out for multiple weeks before the team takes another look at him indicates that Luciano may be dealing with a Grade 2 strain, though nothing has been confirmed at the moment. A timeline for the young infielder's return will likely emerge after he gets evaluated.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Dealing with hamstring injury
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Luciano was removed from Tuesday's game with Triple-A Sacramento due to a hamstring injury, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Luciano's removal from Tuesday's game was initially expected to be a sign of a promotion to the majors, but it seems Luciano was instead battling an injury. Luciano is slashing .244/.320/.422 in Triple-A and went 3-for-11 during his first MLB stint, so a return to San Francisco could be in the cards for Luciano after he recovers.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Set for promotion Wednesday
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The Giants are expected to recall Luciano from Triple-A Sacramento prior to Wednesday's game against the Angels, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.
San Francisco hasn't confirmed Luciano's promotion, but the infielder was pulled early from his game Tuesday with Sacramento, likely as a reaction to outfielder/designated hitter AJ Pollock exiting the Giants' 7-5 loss to the Angels on Tuesday with a side injury. Pollock could be moved to the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move, which would pave the way for Luciano to join the big club for the second time this season. The 21-year-old went 3-for-11 in four games with the Giants in late July and could be in store for a part-time role during his upcoming stint in San Francisco.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Batting eighth in debut
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Luciano is starting at shortstop and batting eighth in his major-league debut Wednesday versus the Athletics, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Luciano was called up Wednesday afternoon from Triple-A Sacramento, where he had slashed .292/.370/.625 in 27 plate appearances since being promoted from Double-A Richmond earlier this month. He is only 21 years old and doesn't offer a ton of current counting-stats upside, but his arrival represents an exciting new chapter in San Francisco and it wouldn't be a shock if the highly-touted prospect is able to provide an immediate spark for a Giants team that ranks bottom-third in most offensive categories.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Promoted to Triple-A
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Luciano was promoted Tuesday to Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Luciano missed the first month of the minor-league season after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back while playing in the Dominican Winter League and then got off to a relatively slow start with Double-A Richmond upon his arrival there in early May. He had turned it on lately, though, slashing .309/.416/.564 across his last 113 plate appearances dating back to June 10. The highly-touted shortstop prospect, who turns 22 in September, is now just one step away from the majors.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Activated off minor-league IL
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Luciano (back) was activated off the injured list Tuesday at Double-A Richmond, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Luciano missed the first month of the 2023 minor-league season after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back while playing in the Dominican Winter League. Now with a clean bill of health, the 21-year-old top shortstop prospect can continue his ascent through the Giants' system. He registered an .817 OPS in 65 games last summer between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League and High-A Eugene.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Optioned to minors
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Luciano (back) was optioned to minor-league camp Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Luciano hasn't appeared in a spring game because of his back trouble, but he has been a full participant in workouts as of late. The top hitting prospect in the San Francisco system is likely to begin the season with Double-A Richmond, and a strong showing there could go a long way to him making his MLB debut before 2023 comes to a close.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Fields grounders Thursday
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Luciano (back) fielded grounders and took on-field batting practice without issue Thursday, Danny Emerman of KNBR reports.
Luciano suffered a stress fracture in his lower back while playing in the Dominican Winter League, but he is on track now to be a regular for Double-A Richmond at the start of their 2023 campaign. The 21-year-old shortstop ranks as a top-50 overall prospect and is a big part of the long-term blueprint in San Francisco.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Ramping up hitting progression
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Luciano (back) is ramping up his hitting progression and fielding grounders Wednesday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Luciano is still recovering from a back injury sustained in the Dominican Winter League. It doesn't appear this injury will impact the start of his season, where he's expected to make the jump to Double-A Richmond to begin the year. Barring setbacks, Luciano should have a chance to get into at least a couple of spring games.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Shielded from Rule 5 draft
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Luciano was added to the Giants' 40-man roster Tuesday.
Luciano spent most of the 2022 campaign with High-A Eugene, though he also joined Double-A Richmond for their postseason. The 21-year-old had a .263/.339/.459 slash line in 57 games at High-A and could keep advancing in 2023.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Added to Double-A playoff roster
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Luciano is joining Double-A Richmond on Tuesday for their postseason, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
This move makes sense on several fronts. First, it allows Luciano to make up for the time he has missed this season with back and leg injuries (played in 57 games at High-A). Second, it will give Luciano his first exposure to upper-level pitching. He hit .263/.339/.459 with 10 home runs, a .195 ISO, a 22.2 percent strikeout rate and a 9.6 percent walk rate in 230 plate appearances. Luciano, who will be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, figures to spend a good chunk of next season at Double-A.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Shut down with lower-back strain
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The Giants announced Wednesday that Luciano has been diagnosed with a lower-back strain and will be shut down from baseball activities for at least a couple of weeks before resuming workouts, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
High-A Eugene placed Luciano on its 7-day injured list Friday with an injury that was termed as "lower-back tightness," but follow-up tests evidently revealed that the elite prospect strained a muscle. He'll head to the Giants' spring training facility in Arizona to conduct his rehab, and he doesn't look as though he'll be ready to rejoin the High-A lineup until at least July. The 20-year-old infielder was slashing .288/.360/.507 with eight home runs in 164 plate appearances for Eugene before sustaining the injury.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Dealing with minor back issue
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Luciano was placed on the 7-day injured list with High-A Eugene on Friday due to lower-back tightness, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.
Luciano has already missed just shy of a week with the injury, though the Giants reportedly don't believe it to be a serious issue. Assuming that's the case, the 20-year-old should return soon to build on his promising start with Eugene, where he's hit .288/.360/.507 with eight homers in 40 games.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Unchallenged in High-A
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Luciano is hitting .328/.380/.578 with four homers through 18 games this season for High-A Eugene.
The pop is nice, but even nicer is how steady Luciano has been this year, picking up hits in all but four games. The 20-year-old shortstop is widely considered among the top few prospects in the organization, and he's continued justifying that status so far this year.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Ready to build upon 2021 season
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Luciano is ready to build upon 2021 after feeling fatigued down the stretch last season. He has been preparing for about one month and states "I feel great," according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com.
Luciano felt fatigued during 2021 since that was his first full season in the minors. He worked on his conditioning by adding cardio and shoulder exercises to his routine. Luciano noted that fatigue likely contributed to the struggles, particularly at High-A, where he hit one home run with a .217 batting average, .577 OPS, and a 37.2 K% in 145 plate appearances. Before that, Luciano boasted a .288 batting average, .951 OPS, and 21.6% K% at Low-A. Luciano is working on improving his contact rate in 2022 via an open batting stance.
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Giants' Marco Luciano: Gets bump up to High-A
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The Giants promoted Luciano from Low-A San Jose to High-A Eugene on Wednesday.
The No. 1 prospect in the San Francisco organization and one of the top teenage hitters in the minor leagues, Luciano earned his way to Eugene after posting a .373 on-base percentage, 18 home runs and five stolen bases across 308 plate appearances at Low-A. He's unlikely to provide much impact as a base stealer as he rises through the Giants' system, and a move off shortstop could eventually be in the cards, but Luciano's combination of power and plate discipline will give him a chance at stardom once he reaches his prime.
