Giants Future Looks Blocked for Disappointing Prospect Marco Luciano

Former San Francisco Giants top prospect Marco Luciano is having a great season at Triple-A Sacramento, but it’s not impacting his future.

San Francisco Giants infielder Marco Luciano (37) reacts after striking out against the San Diego Padres during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

There once was a time that Marco Luciano was part of the future in the San Francisco Giants’ outfield, a star in the making.

The Giants thought so much of him as an international prospect that they paid the Dominican Republic native a $2.6 million bonus as a 16-year-old in 2018. Just about everywhere he went in San Francisco’s minor league system, he hit. He blended a quality slash with intriguing power, slamming double-digit home runs in every minor league season.

Did the Giants call him up too soon in 2023? Perhaps. But they neeeded an infielder, he was already on the 40-man roster after San Francisco protected him from the Rule 5 Draft and there was evidence the Giants were willing to be patient. That evidence disappeared fast. He played in 14 games in 2023. He played in 27 in 2024 and battled injuries. He slashed .217/.286/.304 with no home runs and three RBI.

He's been with Triple-A Sacramento all season. Of course, all he’s done is rake.

Marco Luciano’s Impressive 2025 Season

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The River Cats have played Luciano almost exclusively in left field, the position at which he feels most at home. He’s played nearly 350 minor leagues games there. He’s comfortable with the position and it has shown in his bat this season.

Luciano has hit 20 home runs in 102 games this season. For the 23-year-old, that is a career high in the minor leagues. He hit 19 home runs in 2021 when he played in 106 games with two different affiliates, neither of which were Sacramento.

He has always been able to slug. His 20 home runs are tied for fourth in the Pacific Coast League behind Oklahoma City’s Ryan Ward (29), Salt Lake’s Niko Kavadas (23) and El Paso’s Luis Campusano (21). Oklahoma City’s James Outman also has 20 home runs. Normally, that kind of slug would lead to a Major League call-up. But, aside from Luciano’s limited MLB track record there are two other issues.

Why Marco Luciano May Need Change of Scenery

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First, even with the slug, Luciano is having the worst single-season slash of his minor league career. In 102 games he’s slashed .218/.341/.431. He has struck out a career-high 133 times, even though he’s drawn a career-high 71 walks.

Second, his path back to the Majors is blocked. The trade of Mike Yastrzemski at the deadline didn’t warrant a call-up from San Francisco for outfield help. The day the Giants traded Yastrzemski they promoted outfielder Grant McCray. A week later they promoted an outfielder acquired in another trade, Drew Gilbert.

If left field is Luciano’s best position, well, it’s taken. Heliot Ramos is now fully entrenched there, now that Jung Hoo Lee is back in center field, who was injured most of last year. The 2024 All-Star has as much slug as Luciano and a better slash in the Majors — almost 50 points better. Ramos isn’t a free agent until 2030.

It all leads one to believe that no matter what Luciano does, it won’t lead to a move back to the Bay Area. For a young player with talent that remains untapped, San Francisco may need to do him a favor, non-tender him and give him a chance to impress someone else in 2026.