Marco Luciano Explained

Marco Luciano
Team:	San Francisco Giants
Number:	37
Position:	Shortstop
Birth Date:	10 September 2001
Birth Place:	San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Bats:	Right
Throws:	Right
Debutleague:	MLB
Debutdate:	July 26
Debutyear:	2023
Debutteam:	San Francisco Giants
Statleague:	MLB
Statyear:	May 24, 2024
Stat1label:	Batting average
Stat1value:	.295
Stat2label:	Home runs
Stat2value:	0
Stat3label:	Runs batted in
Stat3value:	1
Teams:	San Francisco Giants (–present)

Marco José Luciano (born September 10, 2001) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Giants as an international free agent in 2018, and made his MLB debut in 2023.

Early life

Marco José Luciano was born on September 10, 2001, in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Luciano was ranked as one of the top international prospects in his class. He signed with the San Francisco Giants in July 2018 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic for a signing bonus of $2.6 million when he was 16 years old.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} He underwent hernia surgery the following month.^[1]

He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Giants in 2019. Luciano led the league with 46 runs and batted .322/.438/.616 in 178 at bats, with 10 home runs (third in the league), 38 RBIs (4th), and 27 walks (7th).^{[5] [6] [7]} He ended the season as the youngest position player (age 17) in the Northwest League.^[8] He was named an ACL post-season All Star, a Baseball America Rookie All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star.^[1]

Luciano did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Luciano started 2021 with the San Jose Giants (Low-A).^{[9] [10]} In June, Luciano was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.^[11] In August, Luciano was promoted to the Eugene Emeralds (High-A).^{[12] [13]}

In 2021, Luciano hit .258/.344/.471 in 453 plate appearances with 19 home runs and 71 RBIs.^[14] He was named a CAL post-season All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star.^[1] He was selected to participate in the 2021 Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions, where he was the youngest player in the league.^{[15] [16]}

In 2022 he played for Giants Black and Eugene. Luciano hit .269/.350/.467 in 227 at bats, with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs.^[17] He missed half the season with a lower back injury.^{[18] [19]} He was ranked # 1 in the Giants 2022 MLB Prospect Rankings.^[20] On November 15, 2022, the Giants added Luciano to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.^[21]

Luciano was optioned to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels to begin the 2023 season.^[22] In 56 games, he batted .228/.339/.451 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. On July 18, 2023, Luciano was promoted to the Triple–A Sacramento River Cats.^[23]

San Francisco Giants (2023–present)

After only 6 games in Sacramento, the Giants promoted Luciano to the major leagues for the first time.^[24]

Luciano was optioned to Triple–A Sacramento to begin the 2024 season after Nick Ahmed won the starting shortstop job out of spring training.^[25]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marco Luciano Stats, Fantasy & News. MiLB.com.
2. Web site: Giants agree with No. 2 int'l prospect Luciano. MLB.com.
3. Web site: Power-hitting teenager Marco Luciano gives San Francisco Giants a reason to dream. June 27, 2019.
4. Web site: For Giants, Luciano was love at first sight. MLB.com.
5. Web site: 2019 Arizona League Batting Leaders. Baseball-Reference.com.
6. Web site: Comparing Giants prospect Luciano to seven-time All-Star. July 6, 2019. NBCS Bay Area.
7. Web site: Giants star 17-year-old prospect Luciano praised by Zaidi. June 22, 2019. NBCS Bay Area.
8. Web site: Giants Top Prospects. MLB.com.
9. Web site: Future face of the franchise? Marco Luciano pursues his Giants destiny . July 7, 2021 .
10. Web site: Luciano 'far better' than SJ Giants manager has ever coached .
11. Web site: Future Giants Marco Luciano, Heliot Ramos on display in MLB's talent showcase . July 11, 2021 .
12. Web site: SF Giants top prospect Marco Luciano earns a promotion. mercurynews.com. The Mercury News. Kerry. Crowley. August 4, 2021. August 6, 2021.
13. Web site: Getting a glimpse at Giants top prospect Marco Luciano in his High-A debut .
14. Web site: Marco Luciano Minor Leagues Statistics & History. October 10, 2021. Baseball-Reference.com. en.
15. Web site: Here are the Arizona Fall League rosters. October 10, 2021. MLB.com. en.
16. Web site: AFL weekly round-up. Brady. Klopfer. October 22, 2021. McCovey Chronicles.
17. Web site: Marco Luciano Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
18. Web site: Zaidi reveals where Luciano, Harrison ideally will begin 2023. RSN.
19. Web site: SF Giants top prospect Marco Luciano promoted to Double-A. Marc. Delucchi. Sports Illustrated San Francisco Giants News, Analysis and More.
20. Web site: https://www.mlb.com/prospects/giants/ Giants Top Prospects]. MLB.com.
21. Web site: SF Giants protect Marco Luciano, Luis Matos, and several other prospects from Rule 5 Draft. July 14, 2023. si.com. en.
22. Web site: Giants’ Marco Luciano: Optioned to minors. March 12, 2023. cbssports.com. en.
23. Web site: Murphy . Bryan . Marco Luciano promoted to Triple-A Sacramento . McCovey Chronicles . 2023-07-18 . 2024-08-05.
24. Web site: Axisa . Mike . Giants call up top prospect Marco Luciano after short stint in Triple-A . CBSSports.com . 2023-07-26 . 2024-08-05.
25. Web site: Adams . Steve . 2024-03-28 . Giants Option Marco Luciano, Select Nick Ahmed, Release Pablo Sandoval . 2024-08-05 . MLB Trade Rumors . en-US.