SF Giants young middle infielder to start getting reps at new position

Is Marco Luciano a shortstop? A second baseman? Do the SF Giants even know at this point? It turns out the young middle infielder will now be getting reps in the outfield according to Maria Guardado of MLB.Com.

SF Giants young middle infielder to start getting reps at new position

After burning through two option years, the Giants are still unsure of what position to play Luciano. They have evidently seen enough at shortstop but he could continue to see reps at second base. Adding experience in the outfield will create another way for him to stay in the lineup.

This was always a possibility as there were questions about Luciano's range at shortstop. Some scouts wondered if he could move to third base, but that is out of the question after the Matt Chapman extension.

The Giants wanted to give Luciano some extra time to work on his defense at Triple-A when he began the year at Sacramento. Nick Ahmed started the year as the everyday shortstop, essentially to buy Luciano that extra time.

When the 22-year-old infielder was recalled in May, he struggled badly as he made five errors in nine games at shortstop. Eventually, this led to him seeing more time at second base, but now playing the outfield is on the table.

It will be an important offseason for Luciano was he was optioned out on Saturday to make room for Matt Chapman. The move effectively ended Luciano's season and now the Giants have about as much clarity on his potential as they did at the beginning of the year.

Perhaps, the defensive struggles impacted his performance at the plate. Luciano registered a .250/.380/.380 line (99 wRC+) with 10 home runs, 42 RBI, and 55 runs in 384 plate appearances with the Sacramento River Cats. That type of production will not inspire much confidence.

The right-handed bat did show nice improvement in terms of limiting his chase rate. However, this may have led to a more passive approach as he watched a few too many strikes in the zone as well.

Plus, Luciano did register a solid 89.8 MPH average exit velocity in Triple-A this year, but was unable to get enough lift on the ball, so a lot of that hard contact was into the ground. The high ground ball rate has not normally been characteristic of him in the minors, so this feels like it can be corrected through coaching.

It was more of the same in the majors as he struggled to a .562 OPS in 81 sporadic plate appearances. The Giants' messaging with Luciano has been quite confusing this year but it is now time to turn the page and focus on next season. The Giants hope that a healthy and productive winter will be a springboard for the young hitter next season.