CHI
Marco Luciano, IF
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Scouting report
The Giants' dusty, tightly-confined backfields abut a gym with the sort of athleisure-wearing clientele you'd expect in Scottsdale. In January of 2019, when most baseball facilities across the country were dark, just feet away from oblivious Peloton riders and tennis-playing retirees, a few lucky scouts and media folks had a religious experience watching the sweetest-swinging teenager on Earth absolutely roast balls fed to his barrel by a high-speed pitching machine. Because of how close you can sit next to the field there, you can feel the sonic force of bat-to-ball impact radiate into your body. When Marco Luciano connects, you feel it to your core. He is not normal. To find bat speed comps you need to look toward Javier Báez, Eric Davis, or whoever the top of your mental catalog might be. And while he already generates plenty of it, Luciano's square-shouldered frame indicated more power might be coming. After hitting the weight room throughout 2020, he weighed in for 2021 Spring Training at a square-shouldered 208, nearly 30 pounds heavier than his 2019 listed weight. The length created by Luciano's natural, uppercut swing is offset by the explosiveness in his hands; he's not particularly strikeout-prone and he doesn't take out-of-control hacks. Unless something unforeseen is exposed about Luciano's approach as he moves through the minors, all of this power seems likely to actualize in games. His AZL walk rate is encouraging early evidence that he's unlikely to be so exposed. As an athlete and infielder, Luciano is only fair. He might play a passable shortstop one day because his hands and actions are fine most of the time, but he can't presently make strong, accurate throws from multiple platforms and his routine tosses to first don't have that silky smooth shortstop vibe. It looks increasingly likely, especially now that he's added a bunch of weight, that he'll move to either third base or the outfield, enough so that some scouts have him projected there. But it's too early, from a developmental standpoint, to cut bait and move him. He has elite hitting talent, he's produced on paper, and he already has an average exit velo and a hard-hit rate that grade as 65s on the big league scale. If he continues to perform, especially if he hits his way to the upper levels, then this time next year we'll be talking about Marco Luciano as one of the best prospects in baseball, and if he does so while improving his infield defense, perhaps the best. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)