SF Giants recall top power-hitting prospect Marco Luciano, option David Villar

The SF Giants officially recalled shortstop Marco Luciano, one of the organization's top prospects, from Triple-A on Wednesday morning.

The SF Giants recalled shortstop Marco Luciano (Giants #3 Prospect) from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned infielder David Villar on Wednesday morning. NBC Sports Bay Area's Giants beat writer Alex Pavlovic first reported that Luciano would be called up on Tuesday night. Luciano is a consensus top-100 prospect in the minors and is easily the best power-hitting prospect in the Giants system. Given the team's recent offensive struggles, they opted to give him an opportunity even though he was only recently promoted to Triple-A.

The #SFGiants have made the following roster moves:  
• IF Marco Luciano (#37) recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.
• IF David Villar optioned postgame last night to Triple-A Sacramento.

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 26, 2023

Luciano only appeared in six games at Triple-A and hit .292/.370/.625 with two doubles and two home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He did strike out in nearly 40% of his plate appearances, though, which raises some concerns about his readiness to handle big-league pitching.

Luciano missed the start of the season with a major injury but returned to the field in May at Double-A. In 56 games prior to his promotion, Luciano hit .228/.339/.451 with 12 doubles and 11 home runs. While those numbers may not jump off the page, he hit .306/.416/.564 with six doubles, six home runs, 18 walks, and 32 strikeouts in his final 26 games at the level.

Luciano's roughly 30% strikeout rate this season is higher than ideal, but it has not come with a red flag-raising swinging strike rate. In fact, Luciano has shown an even more patient approach than previously this season and is also posting a career-high walk rate. Given his youth, Luciano will not turn 22 until September, there's no reason to be alarmed. Of course, the stakes have been raised now that he's in the lineup of a playoff hopeful. Luciano may be able to be productive down the line, but it remains to be seen if he can help the team this season.

Luciano has quietly been showing more defensive consistency at shortstop in the past month. Most evaluators still believe Luciano will be forced to move to third base or the outfield long-term, but it seems more plausible that he could stick at shortstop than it seemed earlier this year. With Casey Schmitt already on the roster though, and J.D. Davis firmly entrenched at third base, it seems like Luciano will likely see ample opportunities at second base and designated hitter.

Luciano has been one of the best prospects in the Giants organization since he was the team's top signing during the 2018-19 international free-agent period in the same class as outfielder Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect). Luciano crushed the Arizona Rookie League in his professional debut, hitting .302/.417/.564 between the Arizona Rookie League Short-Season as a 17-year-old. After the pandemic-canceled 2020 season, Luciano made his full-season debut in 2021 and was one of the best players in the California League.

At Single-A, Luciano hit .278/.373/.556 with 18 home runs in 70 games.Last season, Luciano hit .263/.339/.459 with 10 home runs in 57 games with the Giants High-A affiliate in Eugene. He missed several weeks in the middle of the season with an injury and was promoted to Double-A for the Flying Squirrels' postseason run. He went 2-for-8 with three strikeouts in a pair of games.

Luciano's call up is quietly also a further indictment of Villar's season. It's no secret that the Giants wanted Villar to solidify himself in the team's lineup this season, but has struggled mightily in the majors. Villar has been searching for a mental reset and has had some offensive flashes in the past month in the majors, but still has a .145/.236/.315 line on the season. He has remained productive at Triple-A though, posting a .257/.339/.505 triple-slash with 14 walks and 29 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances.

With Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford out while Villar, Schmitt, and Brett Wisely continue to scuffle at the plate, there's a clear opportunity for Marco Luciano to solidify himself as an everyday player for manager Gabe Kapler. Perhaps he can become the latest SF Giants rookie to spark a winning streak.