San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
‘This is the best I’ve ever seen him look’
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Marco Luciano doesn’t look as if he has spent much of the past year dealing with injuries. The San Francisco Giants’ top shortstop prospect appears healthier than ever, and he’s certainly much bigger.
“This is the best I’ve ever seen him look,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He’s put on some muscle, that’s the biggest thing. He just looks very physical.”
At 21, Luciano remains a bright prospect. Baseball America ranks him the Giants’ No. 1 prospect, even ahead of lefthanded starter Kyle Harrison. But in the past year, repeated back issues have slowed his timetable for reaching the majors.
The Giants have said they don’t believe the problems are chronic, because the injury that limited him to 57 games last year was in a different spot than the one that sidelined him during winter ball. Still, there has to be concern with a player who has topped the prospect list four years in a row missing so much time.
Luciano is addressing his health directly with his workouts, and he’s up to 210 pounds, he said, which is 30 more than he was listed at last season. His arms are significantly bigger. He’s known for his power, but that’s not why he bulked up — Luciano wants more stamina.
“Having more muscle will help make my body stronger so I can last the entire season,” Luciano said through an interpreter.
Luciano told the Chronicle that he believes he will be able to play in games before the end of spring training, but he started hitting on the field just Thursday, and his fielding work is limited and attended by a trainer. He has a ways to go.
Were it not for the pandemic season and the injuries, Luciano might be in a firm spot to take the shortstop spot next year if Brandon Crawford, who is in the final year of his deal, does not return.
“Oh, my gosh, I haven’t even thought about that,” said Luciano, who has tried to absorb all the knowledge he can from Crawford, especially about positioning. “I just think about what I control.”
Bench and infield coach Kai Correa has been working with Luciano to have more of a onehanded approach at shortstop, and Kapler likes what he has seen.
“That has been really helpful to free him up and have him be more athletic instead of having to kind of paint by numbers,” Kapler said. “The top hand is going to get there when he fields a routine groundball, but just being able to move the ball around a little bit has been helpful for him.
“He’s smiling a lot. He’s more comfortable now than he ever has been. He gets a lot of credit for that. But also I think people are really invested in Marco.”
Luciano will open the season at Double-A Richmond, so he might be at Triple-A Sacramento by the end of this season. That makes the big leagues a possibility at some point in 2024, but he would need full health and also to demonstrate that he can hit at every level.
The only level at which Luciano has hit better than .278 was Rookie ball, but he does draw walks at a decent rate, and he has that power — he hit 18 homers in 308 plate appearances with Low-A San Jose in 2021, and has 40 total in his 926 career minor-league plate appearances.
After being unable to hit all winter, Luciano is working with the Giants’ hitting coaches on more consistent quality at-bats, with a focus less on hitting balls deep and more on getting on base.
“When I’m healthy, I feel I can do anything in the game,” Luciano said. “When you have any type of injury or anything that is bothering you, that is in your head. It’s a constant reminder that you can’t do what you’re supposed to do.”