Marco Luciano Is Doing What He Can To Re-Earn the Giants’ Trust

Marco Luciano has gone through one of the most interesting journeys for a top prospect in recent memory.

Once Brandon Crawford retired, he was seen as the future of the San Francisco Giants at the shortstop position. However, things didn’t go in Luciano’s favor after that, and it’s been a bumpy road up until this point.

The young shortstop was ranked among the top three prospects in the Giants’ system for six straight years (2019-24), according to MLB.com. In two of those seasons, he was the top prospect in the organization.

With Crawford seemingly slowing down in 2023, a lot of expectations were placed on the shoulders of Luciano. As a matter of fact, he was rushed to the big leagues and made his debut in August that year.

This push to have the Giants’ top position player prospect in the big leagues was an attempt to bring some excitement into the clubhouse and the fanbase. However, this has looked like one of the biggest blunders of the Farhan Zaidi era in San Francisco and part of why Buster Posey is taking his time with current top prospect, Bryce Eldridge.

Luciano’s development was severely mishandled, and it’s starting to look like the former top prospect is now an afterthought in the organization.

In 41 games at the big league level between 2023 and 2024, Luciano struggled mightily, slashing .217/.286/.304 for a 68 wRC+. He also has yet to hit his first big league home run, which is concerning due to the fact that power was his main calling card as a prospect coming up.

Another important note is to mention that his defense at shortstop was so lackluster that San Francisco has now converted him into a corner outfielder. Not transitioning Luciano defensively earlier in his development was another issue for which the former regime in San Francisco received backlash.

All of this has led to Luciano spending the entire 2025 season with the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats. It was always going to be difficult for him to regain some trust from the front office, but has he started to do that with his improved play and uptick in power this year?

Is It Too Late?

Not a lot of Giants fans had any hope for Luciano turning into anything heading into 2025. After the team signed Willy Adames, and with the emergence of Heliot Ramos, it looked like there was no position for him. To add to the fact, Drew Gilbert and Luis Matos have emerged as possible pieces moving forward just over the last few weeks, which will make it even harder for Luciano to earn a spot on the big league team.