At 3:45 p.m., three hours before first pitch, Logan Webb tapped Marco Luciano’s back side and gave him a hug at the rookie’s fresh locker. Ten minutes later, the Giants’ top prospect climbed the dugout steps for the first time as a big leaguer and took grounders from the team’s little red machine.
During batting practice shortly thereafter, Luciano crushed a home run that cleared the left-field bleachers and clanged near the Coca Cola bottle. The prodigal prospect had arrived, bringing with him a palpable buzz to Oracle Park.
Luciano became the ninth Giants rookie to debut this year, and he is arguably the most hyped. Signed as the second-ranked international prospect of the 2018 class, the shortstop took the scenic route to the Major Leagues, but nonetheless has arrived at his desired destination.
The blue-chip prospect’s first MLB game was largely uneventful, as Luciano went 0-for-2 on the night, but his presence in the lineup represented a continuation of the Giants’ youth movement in a season of near-constant rookie influx.
The Giants (56-47) got a win in Luciano’s debut, as Austin Slater’s go-ahead pinch home run in the sixth inning lifted them to a 8-3 victory. Their eight runs were the most the team has scored in a game since July 18, shaking up what’s been a nearly team-wide slump.
“I think it’s exciting,” Slater said of Luciano — and all the other young Giants — getting a chance. “To get their feet wet, and get their feet wet on a winning team, that doesn’t happen a whole lot. I think if you went around the league and looked at guys that come up, and especially this large quantity of guys who have come up and contributed, you don’t see that on playoff contending teams. I think it’s a great experience and there will be some really great learning experiences for them.”
Luciano wasted no time taking his first big-league hack. The home plate umpire paused the pitch timer so the shortstop could soak in Oracle Park’s ovation, and the shortstop tapped Athletics Shea Langeliers on the leg with his bat. Once play began, Luciano swung at Freddy Tarnok’s first pitch.
The 21-year-old lifted Tarnok’s 94 mph fastball deep to right field, where Ramon Laureano needed to leap at the wall to retire Luciano. The batted ball had an exit velocity of 99.1 mph and would’ve left one ballpark. Even though it went down as an out, Giants fans — still catching their breath from their introductory applauses — clapped as Luciano jogged back to the dugout.
He only played six games in Triple-A before earning a promotion, but Luciano clearly wasn’t afraid to take his cuts.
Right after Luciano’s first MLB at-bat, rookie Casey Schmitt drove Mike Yastrzesmki in from first to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. Schmitt’s 108.3 mph exit velocity is a promising sign for the infielder who has hit .200 in July. San Francisco already led because in the first inning, J.D. Davis parked a two-run homer with an opposite field blast.
With Ryan Walker opening the game, Luciano was one of five rookies in the Giants’ starting lineup. Luciano and Matos became the first Giants duo under 22 to play in the same game in over 40 years.
“I’m really excited because there’s a lot of veterans in this clubhouse that I admire,” Luciano said pregame. “But also there’s a lot of young players here that I played with in Single-A, so I’m very happy for them and very happy that I’m here with them.”
Walker provided eight outs with a solid start, but Jakob Junis gave up three runs in his relief to tie the game. Luis Matos’ error throwing to third base on a bloop single certainly didn’t help, but Junis gave up a double, two singles and a walk in his one inning.
Alex Wood, the starter-turned-reliever, delivered the biggest pitching contribution, allowing one run in three scoreless innings.
To give the Giants a 5-3 lead, Slater did what he’s done since he put on a Giants uniform: enter games ready to do damage. His eighth career pinch hit home run just barely cleared the left field fence. Since Slater debuted in 2017, he and Wilmer Flores lead MLB with pinch homers.
Joc Pederson pinch hit for Luciano in the seventh inning for a matchup advantage, ending the rookie’s debut after two at-bats. He made four plays at shortstop, including a flip to fellow rookie Casey Schmitt to turn one of two double plays.
“I feel very comfortable,” Luciano said postgame. “It’s something that I’ve been working on, something I’ve improved. Definitely, I feel very comfortable (defensively).”
Luciano’s night ended with as many ovations as plate appearances. A pair of doubles from Luis Matos and Patrick Bailey extended SF’s lead in the eighth, a reminder that Luciano is the newest, but far from the only rookie who has a chance to help the Giants this year.
San Francisco’s next young core keeps emerging.
“You don’t know when a young player like (Luciano) is going to come up and give you a spark,” Wood said postgame. “We’ve already seen it a couple times this year. Schmitt when he came up, the big boost — who knows how many wins he gave us in those first weeks when he couldn’t get out? And then Matos and a lot of our arms, it’s been a lot of fun. You’ve got to tip your cap to Farhan, the guys making the decisions to bring up those young guys and give them a shot…Lot of excitement around a player like that, and I thought he looked comfortable tonight. So it’ll be nice to see him get a little runway here the next week and see what he can do.”
