SF Giants top hitting prospect Marco Luciano out with stress fracture
With spring training officially underway, the SF Giants revealed that shortstop Marco Luciano, one of the organization's top prospects is still recovering from an injury he suffered this offseason. According to a team press release, Luciano suffered a stress fracture in his lower back while playing in the Dominican Winter League. Luciano is currently the second-best prospect in the system, per Giants Baseball Insider's latest prospect rankings.
Zaidi told reporters in his first media availability since pitchers and catchers reported to camp that the team does not believe Luciano's injury will cause him any long-term problems. However, he is still ramping up his baseball activity and it remains unclear if he will be able to return to the field before the start of the regular season. Luciano is expected to start the season at Double-A.
Here's an excerpt of Luciano's scouting report from GBI's rankings:
Marco Luciano is no longer the consensus top prospect in the SF Giants system after Harrison's exceptional 2022, but he remains the best-hitting prospect in the organization and a consensus top-50 prospect in the minors. Normally, the added risk that comes with pitching prospects would lead Luciano to the top spot, but questions about his defensive future and mild concerns about his injury history make the top spot a toss-up.
Luciano got off to a hot start at High-A, and probably was slated to be promoted with Harrison before a back injury sidelined him for most of June and July. While the rainy weather throughout the Pacific Northwest was suppressing offensive numbers in the Northwest League, Luciano hit eight homers in 40 games with a .288/.360/.507 triple-slash prior to the injury. However, he was unable to replicate that production upon his return. He was promoted to Double-A in time for the postseason but went just 1-for-8 with three strikeouts.
Back injuries are always alarming, particularly for a power hitter like Luciano. Moreover, Luciano missed a significant portion of the 2022 minor-league season with a back injury. Prior to his injury at the Dominican Winter League, Luciano hit .250/.308/.250 in 13 plate appearances. Nevertheless, the SF Giants hope Marco Luciano can recover from his stress fracture soon and start making a case for a big-league call-up.
