Former Giants top prospect Luciano embracing 2025 position change

Former Giants top prospect Luciano embracing 2025 position change originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN JOSE — Very rarely is a top prospect’s path to big-league stardom linear. There are the few exceptions, à la a Bryce Harper, for example, but breaking through at the MLB level, let alone immediately, can be extremely difficult and take time, regardless of how talented a young player is.

Marco Luciano is finding that out, perhaps the hard way, or perhaps the way he was supposed to.

A 16-year-old Luciano signed with the Giants in 2018 as a toolsy shortstop and one of the game’s top international prospects. His ascension through San Francisco’s minor-league system was a mixed bag. His brief stints in the majors over the last two seasons have been disappointing.

Luciano, in 41 major-league games in 2023 and 2024 combined, has struggled to find his footing, both in the field and at the plate. In 126 plate appearances, Luciano is batting .217/.286/.304 with zero home runs, three RBI and nine extra-base hits while splitting time evenly between shortstop, second base and designated hitter.

While he likely enters spring training in 2025 on the outside looking in at a potential Opening Day roster spot, Luciano has put himself in a better position this spring due to his work in the outfield this offseason, a position he played as a teenager before signing with the Giants six-plus years ago.

Luciano spoke to local reporters at Giants Fan Fest on Saturday in San Jose and shared that while he primarily has trained in left field this offseason, he still has been working out at shortstop, second base and third base and feels comfortable at all positions.

The young prospect has trained throughout the offseason with Edwin Castillo, a hitting coach in the Dominican Republic who runs his own baseball academy and someone Luciano has trained with since he was 16 years old.

Luciano admitted he did not have the best season in 2024, both with Triple-A Sacramento and with the Giants, and while the primary position change and his overall defensive versatility could open more doors for him at the major-league level, he believes his bat and confidence at the plate ultimately will give him the best chance to stick in the majors this season, regardless of where he plays in the field.

While Luciano’s early career struggles likely have forced him out of the team’s long-term plan, at least for right now, the young infielder/outfielder can look no further than to one of his teammates for motivation as he looks to once again establish himself as a potential cornerstone player.

“[Heliot] Ramos is a great example, right?” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic in October. “Ramos is a great example of a guy that was a highly-touted prospect and scuffled a little bit and then for whatever reason something was unlocked this year, whether it’s confidence, [or] an adjustment was made, and hopefully that’s something that Luciano is going to be able to unleash, as well.”

Luciano told reporters on Saturday that he was inspired by Ramos’ ascension from once-struggling top prospect to MLB All-Star, and hopes to follow in his footsteps in 2025 and beyond.

And while Luciano can look to Ramos for inspiration, he can turn to veteran shortstop Willy Adames for support, a role the new Giants slugger is eager to take on as a leader in the clubhouse.

“I’m super excited to work with him, help him in any way I can and just to be there for him,” Adames told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday. “Whatever he needs from me, I’ll help with whatever I can. I’m just excited to play with him, to see his talent, to see his personality, to get to know him and try to guide him to be a true professional.”

Similar to Ramos last season, Luciano likely won’t be in the picture at the major-league level right away and will have to earn another look in the big leagues with a hot start in 2025, likely in Sacramento, before he can attempt to rewrite the narrative surrounding his career.

And if he can, it will serve as another important reminder to the Giants organization that when it comes to developing talented, young prospects, sometimes all you need is patience.

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