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Marco Luciano's top-10 moments with the Flying Squirrels

Ten memorable moments for No. 10 in Richmond
By Trey Wilson
July 26, 2023

As Marco Luciano gets set to make his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants, it is as good of a time as any to take a look back at some of his top moments during his time with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

As Marco Luciano gets set to make his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants, it is as good of a time as any to take a look back at some of his top moments during his time with the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Luciano briefly joined the Flying Squirrels last September during the Eastern League playoffs but he did not make his official debut until May. Over his 56 games in Richmond, he showed off the power that has him rated as MLB.com’s No. 15 overall prospect.

It has only been 10 days since Luciano last suited up for the Flying Squirrels, so while the memories are still fresh, let’s look back at the top-10 moments for No. 10 in Richmond.

No. 10: Deep home run to center punctuates turnaround weekend

On June 11, Luciano crushed a two-run homer to give the Flying Squirrels an early lead over the Altoona Curve. He did that a day after a career performance, which we will get to shortly. The Sunday homer capped a weekend that proved to be a turning point for Luciano. Although he had shown some power early, he had hit .157 with a .623 OPS through his first 30 Double-A games to that point. Beginning that weekend, he hit .309 with a .980 OPS over his final 26 Double-A games up until his promotion to Triple-A last week.

No. 9: Barehand play keeps a run from scoring

This list will not be all bombs, although there are plenty. Luciano also made some fun plays at shortstop during his time in Richmond. On July 6, the Baysox had a runner at third with one out. John Rhodes hit a bouncer to Luciano, who quickly grabbed it with a bare hand and threw out Jud Fabian attempting to score. The play kept Richmond ahead, 1-0, in what ended up being a 4-0, shutout win.

No. 8: Fireworks at The Diamond

The Fourth of July at The Diamond is a staple tradition in Richmond. As usual, the Flying Squirrels had a sellout crowd of 9,810 at the ballpark for their Independence Day celebration. The Baysox held a 5-4 lead before the bottom of the eighth, but the Richmond offense erupted for seven runs in an 11-5 win. The inning included homers by Wade Meckler, Shane Matheny, and what ended up being the final Richmond homer by Luciano. It was one of his more impressive home runs with Richmond and missed clearing the batter’s eye by just a couple feet.

No. 7: Four-for-Four

On June 24, Luciano tied a career high with four hits, including a double. He added a walk, reaching base five times in the game. The Richmond offense combined for 16 hits in the game and beat the Senators, 7-2.

No. 6: Oppo Taco

Facing the Baysox in Bowie, Luciano hit a bomb off the top of the video board at Prince George’s Stadium. The homer carried an estimated 432 feet, showing that Luciano can hit the ball a long way to all fields.

No. 5: Back-to-back bombs with Luis Matos

Along with Luciano, the Giants have another 21-year-old on the roster who was with Richmond just a few weeks ago. On May 14 in Erie, Luis Matos hit a two-run homer. Luciano followed with a blast that landed on the roof of the arena that neighbors UPMC Park. It was the first time Luciano and Matos hit back-to-back homers in their careers climbing the Giants ladder together.

No. 4: Heads up in the parking lot

On May 21, Luciano rocketed a 113-mph line drive out of the ballpark in Richmond to tie the score, 3-3, in the eighth inning. Later in the inning, Carter Aldrete and Andy Thomas went back-to-back to give the Flying Squirrels the lead in a 5-3 win, with Luciano’s homer kick-starting the rally.

No. 3: Two-homer, six-RBI day sparks turnaround

Luciano hit a grand slam in the second inning and added a two-run homer in the eighth inning in an 11-2 win over the Curve on June 10 at The Diamond. It was the fourth two-homer game of his professional career and his first at Double-A. From that night until his promotion to Triple-A, Luciano posted the sixth-best OPS in the Eastern League.

No. 2: Send us home, Marco

On June 2, the Flying Squirrels were tied, 5-5, entering the bottom of the ninth against the SeaWolves at The Diamond. Vaun Brown reached on a one-out single, advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch and sprinted home on a sacrifice fly by Luciano. It was Luciano’s only Double-A walk-off winner and the first this season for the Flying Squirrels.

No. 1: Starting off with a BANG

Luciano went hitless in his Double-A debut on May 3 but did reach base once with a walk. On May 4 in his second game, he belted a solo homer to left-center for his first Double-A hit. He added a little flair to his 111-mph strike with a big bat flip. It was the first of 11 home runs he hit in a Flying Squirrels uniform.

The Flying Squirrels continue their hunt for the Eastern League postseason with a funn-filled lineup of summer promotions coming up at The Diamond. For tickets or more information, visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets.

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