A case for giving Marco Luciano a shot if Jazz misses time

I'm not saying Marco Luciano is suddenly the answer at 2B, or that his minor league numbers are going to translate 1:1 to MLB.

They obviously won't.

But if Jazz is going to miss some time, I really don't understand why Luciano shouldn't at least be part of the conversation.

Luciano is still only 24 and is hitting:

2026 overall minors:

.300/.389/.548 (.937 OPS)

19 HR

53 RBI

7 SB

And since moving up to AAA:

59 games

.288/.380/.473 (.853 OPS)

9 HR

33 BB

60 K

That's the part that interests me.

He's not suddenly a contact-first hitter and the swing-and-miss is still there, but this also isn't some .220 hitter living off home runs. He's getting on base, taking walks and hitting for power.

He's also a right-handed bat, which gives the lineup a different look from Jazz.

And Scranton has actually been playing him at 2B, so this isn't asking him to learn the position from scratch at the MLB level.

I know the obvious counterargument is the roster situation.

He's currently off the 40-man after being outrighted, and because of his option situation you can't just call him up and casually send him back down whenever you want.

But... isn't that also an argument for finding out what you have?

The guy has already bounced through waivers. He's 24, was once one of the better prospects in baseball, and is currently having probably his best offensive season in years.

If Jazz needs an IL stint, give Luciano some ABs.

You don't even have to make him the everyday 2B.

Let Caballero handle 2B when you want the better defender. Give Luciano starts at 2B/DH and see whether the bat plays against MLB pitching.

If MLB pitching exposes him, fine. Now you know.

But if even part of this offensive improvement translates, you might have found a useful right-handed bat for the stretch run basically sitting in AAA.

And personally, I'd rather find that out than automatically make the answer "bring Volpe back."

Luciano doesn't need to put up a .900 OPS in MLB.

If the AAA production translates into even something like a .730-.780 OPS with power and a decent OBP, that could still help this lineup.

Feels like a pretty reasonable time to see what he's got.