Desperate times call for desperate action, and the Giants are meeting the moment.
By calling up top position player prospect Marco Luciano, the Giants are showing that they’ll do whatever they can to halt their recent offensive slide. Service time, upper-level experience, and age be damned.
Luciano, 21, will be the Giants’ fourth homegrown rookie under the age of 24 to get a chance to impact the 2023 club’s fortunes. As the Giants are in the midst of a disconcerting, nearly all-consuming hitting slump, Luciano presents the possibility of a jolt during a team in which the clubhouse could use one.
As first reported by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic, the Giants officially recalled Luciano to the 26-man roster on Wednesday morning, optioning struggling infielder David Villar. Luciano will join a middle infield group that is both depleted by injuries and struggling mightily after he completed just six games with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
Luciano shouldn’t be viewed as a savior, but he is entering a situation in need of rescuing. Over the past seven games, the Giants have scored 11 runs. They needed an error and a lucky bloop single to squeeze two runs past the Oakland Athletics, who have the worst team ERA in MLB. The Giants are hitting .154 as a team over the past seven games and have been the worst offense according to wRC+ in the month of July.
There’s almost no way Luciano could make things worse. At 54-47 and one of five teams with a realistic shot at three National League wild card spots, seeing what their two-time organizational All-Star can do is as good a swing as any.
Under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, the Giants historically prefer their prospects to dominate each minor league level before graduating them. This year, though, they’ve operated more aggressively, promoting prospects like Luciano, Luis Matos and Patrick Bailey quickly.
Luciano played well at Triple-A, hitting .292 with a .995 OPS and two home runs in his week there. He added a highlight-reel flip up the middle and displayed continued plate discipline.
In his last game with the River Cats, Luciano went 1-for-4 with a home run, walk and two sharply hit outs.
“The most impressive thing I’ve seen so far is he’s a young man that isn’t overwhelmed,” River Cats Manager Dave Brundage said, via the team’s minor league roundup notes. “He’s got pretty good command and he doesn’t chase that much…I know the power is there, but now it’s about getting comfortable and utilizing all fields.”
Luciano’s power potential has made him an elite prospect since the Giants signed him in 2018 as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. On Tuesday night, he registered two 110 mph exit velocities and another at 108.8. As Pavlovic noted, no Giant has hit a ball 110 mph since the All-Star break.
But calling up Luciano has just as much to do with his power as the Giants’ current options. Casey Schmitt, at this point in his career, is a defensive specialist. Brett Wisely, who has been starting most games at second base, is a liability in the batter’s box.
Both rookies have been taking the brunt of starts with Brandon Crawford (knee) and Thairo Estrada (hand) sidelined. Schmitt is 4-for-48 (.083) in July and Wisely is 4-for-34 (.118) in the same span. Villar, who got optioned, is hitless since the All-Star break.
Even J.D. Davis, who had an All-Star level first half, is 3-for-31 (.097) since the break. Perhaps Luciano could get him off his feet at third base, too.
Wilmer Flores and Joc Pederson have essentially been San Francisco’s lone sources of offense for weeks now. While they’re still in the thick of the National League wild card race, that’s not going to cut it.
“I still think we’re going to need to get more than a few hits here or there,” manager Gabe Kapler said after Tuesday’s win. “For our team to be successful, we’re going to have to have some more consistently productive at-bats.”
This season, the Giants have had the most success when their rookies are producing. Luciano has the talent to keep that up.
Teams eight games over .500 are rarely desperate. But the Giants’ offense’s elongated rut has forced their hand, and with Luciano, they’re acting accordingly.