Pandemic delays journey to majors
Marco Luciano could become S.F.’s first homegrown Latin star since Pablo Sandoval
Giants farmhand Marco Luciano was asked to name his favorite baseball player, and he didn’t pick someone at his position or someone near his age group or someone from his homeland.
Luciano picked Mike Trout, the game’s best overall player.
“He plays the game really hard,” Luciano said through translator Gabe Alvarez, the Giants’ minorleague coordinator. “He respects everyone, and everyone respects him.”
An 18yearold shortstop and widely considered one of the Giants’ top three prospects, Luciano plans on making a splash in the big leagues with his wide array of skills. He has a good bat with power, and he defends and throws well enough that the Giants intend to keep him at shortstop. Decent speed, too.
What Luciano needs most, to accelerate his development, is reps. He’s not getting any while sheltering in place at
his parents’ home in the Dominican Republic.
The coronavirus pandemic has detoured the Giants’ rebuilding process by denying key prospects valuable playing time. Although the likes of catcher Joey Bart could reach the big leagues if there’s a season, especially with a universal designated hitter, Luciano might miss the entire year.
Luciano isn’t close to the majors and likely would have spent most of his summer at Class A Augusta. With the possibility that the entire minor league schedule will be canceled in 2020, Luciano is falling behind on his path to the majors.
His timetable is more aggressive than the Giants’ — “I think at 20, I could get there,” he told The Chronicle in midMarch on the final day of training camp for minorleaguers. The lofty goal gets loftier the longer he’s distanced from competition.
The Giants have no intention to rush Luciano, who seems destined to become the Giants’ most prominent homegrown Latin American player since Pablo Sandoval. Even Sandoval, who skipped TripleA, spent several seasons in A ball before playing 44 DoubleA games in 2008 and rising to the majors that August.
“When you consider his age group, he’d maybe be a freshman in college,” said director of player development Kyle Haines, who suggested Luciano would get a callup by the Giants only “when he’s ready to help the team win.”
Luciano has been likened to a young Alfonso Soriano (who hit 412 homers over 16 seasons), but his value depends on who’s judging. Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus rank him the Giants’ No. 1 prospect, ahead of Bart and outfielder Heliot Ramos. MLB.com and Fangraphs rate Luciano second. Keith Law of the Athletic has Luciano third.
Either way, Luciano is tops among the organization’s infield prospects and its pool of teenagers. He’s listed at 6foot2 and 178 pounds — he says he has filled out to 200 — and his power might be considered his top tool, but Haines has a different viewpoint.
“The thing I like about him is his ability to have a quality atbat,” Haines said. “Usually, young players with power swing to hit a home run. What separates him from other young players is his discipline in the box, not chasing pitches and getting greedy.
“Usually, you’re trying to rein in their aggressiveness. With Marco, that really stood out for me, and that helps his physical tools play to another level.”
Signed for $2.6 million as a 16yearold in July 2018, Luciano debuted in the Giants’ farm system last year as a 17yearold with 38 games in rookie league, hitting .322 and showing a good eye (.438 onbase percentage) and good pop (21 of his 47 hits went for extra bases, including 10 homers).
Luciano moved to shortseason SalemKeizer (Ore.) for a brief stint, going 7for33 (.212) in nine games. He showed up early for spring training as part of minicamp, and Haines said he saw significant defensive improvement.
What does Luciano think is his best tool?
“Hitting is probably what I do best,” he said. “The area I need most improvement is game situations. Where I position myself pitch to pitch. And being a little bit consistent defensively, armstroke consistency.”
That sort of maturation comes with playing time, which isn’t on the immediate horizon for Luciano, whose transition to pro ball has other challenging tiers as an international player who’ll be rising through the ranks.
“I’ve really got to be on top of myself,” he said, “be able to monitor myself on and off the field, either mechanically by studying video or just being able to spend time doing selfreflection so I don’t need to wait on others to tell me if something’s not right.”
Luciano had been attending English classes in spring training and spoke highly of the experience he gained while staying with a host family during his days with SalemKeizer.
“You’ve got to be conscious of everyday behaviors under somebody else’s roof,” he said. “Following expectations of that household. It’s another cultural adjustment.”
It has helped Luciano to befriend fellow prospects Alex Canario and Luis Toribio. “If somebody’s not quite understanding the purpose of something, among us three, we find the right answer in helping each other,” Luciano said.
For now, Luciano continues to work out with friends in the Dominican and live with his parents, Marco, an electrician, and Juana, an elementary school teacher. Luciano has four siblings.
“My discipline and behavior and everyday manners and education come from my parents,” Luciano said. “My favorite thing is seeing how proud my family is of me. And the way I get along with my teammates.”
“The area I need most improvement is game situations. Where I position myself pitch to pitch.”
Marco Luciano, shortstop prospect