The San Francisco Giants, like all other teams, hope their top prospect develop into stars. But the transition to the Major Leagues, or even up through the minors, can prove too difficult, and many top prospects fizzle out before making an impact in the Major Leagues.
Back in 2022, the Giants' top two prospects according to MLB Pipeline were Marco Luciano and Joey Bart. Both were highly touted prospects and were projected to be the future of the Giants franchise. But neither panned out.
Back in 2024, the Giants parted with Bart in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Austin Strickland. Over a year later, Luciano, the other top prospect in the Giants system in 2022, joined Bart as the Giants announced Luciano was claimed by Pittsburgh.
Giants' top 2022 prospects both wind up in Pittsburgh four years later
Luciano was claimed by the Pirates after the Giants released him, and that move officially cemented the disappointing tenure of Luciano in the Giants' farm system.
Both Bart and Luciano made the Major Leagues with the Giants at one point, though neither could capitalize on their Giants tenure.
Bart played in 162 games for the Giants from 2020 through 2023, and his 97 games played in 2022 were the most he's played in a season thus far in his MLB career. Across those four years with the Giants, Bart had a 0.7 bWAR.
Luciano made his MLB debut with the Giants in 2023, and while he only played in 14 games, his.231 batting average and.641 OPS were a bit underwhelming for a former top prospect.
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In 2024, Luciano played in 27 games, hitting just.211 with a.562 OPS and -0.4 bWAR. It was a 41-game stint in the Majors with the Giants, and after not making it back to the Majors, he was let go after the 2025 season.
The 24-year-old, in 125 games in Triple-A for the Giants, hit.214 with a.749 OPS with 23 home runs and 21 doubles.
As Danny Vietti of CBS Sports identified, the Pirates now have both the Giants' top two prospects from the 2022 farm system.
This not only highlights the Pirates' bargain-bin hunting, but also how the Giants haven't gotten the performance they've hoped for from multiple of their top prospects over the last few years.
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