DrB's 2019 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #3 Marco Luciano

Marco Luciano, SS.  DOB: 9/10/2001.  B-R, T-R.  6'2", 180 lbs.  International FA July 2, 2018.

It's too early for any stat lines on Marco Luciano, so we'll settle for $2.6 M, the amount of his signing bonus.  Luciano was rated as the #2 international prospect in the 2018 signing class which opened July 2.  He is the first international prospect since Lucius Fox to get a 7-figure bonus from the Giants because that signing cost them a 2 year penalty in which they could not spend more than $300 K on any one international prospect.  I'm just going to quote Fangraphs scouting report verbatim:

"Luciano's broad, square, muscular shoulders look like they belong to a D1 high school football prospect.  He has one of the better frames in the class and plenty of room to add power to a body that already produces a lot of it.  Luciano has explosive hands and a natural uppercut swing.  He hits many more balls out during BP than is typical for a hitter this age and has taken peers deep in games too.  Luciano's feet and actions are workable on the infield but he struggles with throwing velocity and accuracy when he's forced to throw from a lower arm slot, as shortstops often are.  If he can't correct it, he'll need to move to the outfield.  Luciano's power separates him from most of the rest of the class and he's a potential star if he can stay at short."

I'll just add that in pictures and video, Luciano has huge hands that remind me of Willie Mays and long thin limbs with narrow hips that remind me of Hunter Pence.  Then, of course there are the shoulders and I'm not sure where I've seen those before!  Fangraphs gives him a + for Athleticism and a + for Frame.

I"ll add in some quotes from the MLB Pipeline scouting report:

"Scouts consider Luciano among the top overall hitters in the class.  Others believe he is the best pure hitter overall."

"He hits line drives into the gaps and can also hit the ball over the fence with authority.  Luciano is not the prototypical swing-and-miss power hitter and projects to be a solid middle-of-the-lineup hitter."

Here are a couple more from BA's Ben Badler in an interview with McCovey Chronicles discussing his own eyewitness impressions:

"...with Luciano putting on a huge show in BP with over-the-fence power to all fields and he performed well in games as well."

"He hit an opposite-field home run in that game; it was pretty incredible to see a 16 year old kid swinging a wood bat go oppo in a game like that."

"It's a powerful, explosive swing with good balance, good path that generates such easy power.  Given the way he's built, I think that power is only going to tick up over the next few years."

So there you have it.  It's pretty rare that you have a prospect with so much projection that you rank him in the top tier without seeing him play any pro games, but I think reading those scouting reports will convince you Marco Luciano is in that elite class.  Now, just keep him away from bars in the DR and from glass tables!(References to Angel Villalona and Gustavo Cabrera, not to Marco).