SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants turned their season around in May after a series of promotions for some of their best prospects. In need of another jolt, they appear poised to add their top position player prospect to the lineup on Wednesday.
The Giants are planning to call up shortstop Marco Luciano after just six games in Triple-A, sources told NBC Sports Bay Area. If he plays Wednesday night against the A's, Luciano will become the second 21-year-old to debut this season, joining Luis Matos.
The Giants have scored just 11 runs over their last seven games and had four hits in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the A's. At the same time, Luciano was putting on a show in the River Cats' game in Albuquerque.
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Luciano was 1 for 4 with a walk, but the hit was a homer that left the bat at 110 mph. He also had a 108.8 mph groundout to first and a 110.2 mph line drive that was snagged by the shortstop.
Luciano is 7 for 24 in Triple-A with two homers, two doubles and three walks. He earned a promotion earlier this month after a red-hot stretch in Double-A, and Giants officials have in recent weeks talked highly about his at-bat quality and the rapid improvement of his defense. Since June 10, Luciano is batting .305 with eight homers, eight doubles and 20 RBI in 32 games across two levels.
San Francisco's lineup has been the worst in the big leagues in July, and the Giants have been in search of middle infield depth ahead of next week's trade deadline. They expect to get Brandon Crawford back on Friday, and Thairo Estrada could return early next month, but it appears that the immediate fix may once again be an internal one.
The promotions have come quickly for the young shortstop, but the timing makes sense. Luciano already is on the 40-man roster, so the Giants don't have to worry about making any cuts, and they're likely to face left-handed starters in two of the next three games.
