Marco Luciano (SS) – The top 2018 J2 signee, Luciano was listed at 6’2” 178 lbs on signing day. He is still relatively thin but has wiry, sinewy strength. The body looks capable of adding moderate weight as he matures, which will translate to more power. In January Luciano put on an indelible display of raw power in BP launching balls out to all fields, a skill few 17-year-olds have. In games Luciano has a pull-heavy approach but has flashed all fields power. Flatly, Luciano has some of the best hands/bat speed on the planet; they power his swing and should help him maintain reasonable contact rates without having to sell out for power. He projects to be an above average hitter with double-plus game power at maturity.

Luciano can be beaten by spin at present, but he has made improvements in pitch ID and pitch selection over the course of the season. It is difficult to determine how much of this improvement should be attributed to the diminished quality of pitching from extended to the AZL, but it is obvious Luciano has made improvements regardless. His aptitude for adjustments is encouraging, inspiring optimism he will make similar changes as he climbs into the upper minors. One potential area of concern are his splits versus left-handed pitching. As of 8/14 he was slashing .172/.294/.241 vs lefties with just two extra base hits in 34 plate appearances. Luciano only faced one lefty in my five-game sample, making it hard to determine if/why he is struggling vs them or if this is a small sample mirage. At 34 PAs, we are far from meaningful stabilization points for most stats, but this is something to monitor going forward.

Luciano’s defense needs some work; a few fairly-routine balls ate him up, bouncing off his glove. His defensive actions looked better in INF practice than in games. Overall, he did not look overly instinctive at short and took sub-optimal paths to the ball; there was an element of indecision in how he moved around. Luciano’s run times also raise the question of whether he will maintain enough range for shortstop; he posted 30-40 times, but he looks like a fringe-average runner. Added weight will likely push him into 40-speed territory. Luciano throws from a lowish angle, and he did not make many max effort throws, but his arm was around average to a tick above; it could play at third. A move to third is a logical transition because indecision in his reads and diminished range would be largely mitigated. Worst case scenario is a move to the outfield where Luciano’s bat is so special, it would still play. The most-likely outcome is 40-grade defense at the hot corner.

Overall: FV 60 – Hit 30/55, Power 50/70, Defense 20/40, Arm 50/55, Speed 45/40