Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 40 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

The list of high school catchers from Puerto Rico obviously starts with Yadier Molina, a fourth rounder back in 2000, but it also includes successful big leaguers like Geovany Soto (11th round, 2001) and Christian Vazquez (ninth round, 2008). While Luciano may not go as early as Molina did, solid performances in the PDP League last summer and at this June’s MLB Draft Combine have helped cement him as a solid Day 2 option for teams searching for depth behind the plate.

Luciano comes from the always-popular left-handed hitting backstop demographic. He has a hit-over-power profile right now, with a solid approach and an ability to make consistent hard contact. There’s good line drive gap power right now, and he has shown the ability to turn on pitches and drive them to his pull side a bit more this spring compared to last summer, with some evaluators thinking he could grow into 12-15 homers a year kind of pop. He’s not a runner, but he’s athletic and won’t be a base-clogger, even as he slows down over time behind the plate.

Still just 17 on Draft day, Luciano has the kind of arm strength teams covet from their catchers, though he needs to keep working on his exchange to maximize that tool as well as his receiving and framing. The good news is the Miami (Ohio) recruit has been working on those facets of his game with none other than Molina, with confidence he’ll be a very solid backup at worst, with the chance to develop into a big league regular the best case outcome.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 40 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

The list of high school catchers from Puerto Rico obviously starts with Yadier Molina, a fourth rounder back in 2000, but it also includes successful big leaguers like Geovany Soto (11th round, 2001) and Christian Vazquez (ninth round, 2008). Solid performances in the PDP League last summer and at this June’s MLB Draft Combine helped cement Luciano as a Draft option, and the D-backs selected him higher than any of the aforementioned backstops with a second-round selection. Luciano signed for below slot at $990,000.

Luciano comes from the always-popular left-handed-hitting backstop demographic. He has a hit-over-power profile right now, with a solid approach and an ability to make consistent hard contact. There’s good line drive gap power right now, and he has shown the ability to turn on pitches and drive them to his pull side a bit more this spring compared to last summer, with some evaluators thinking he could grow into 12-15 homers a year kind of pop. He’s not a runner, but he’s athletic and won’t clog the bases, even as he slows down over time behind the plate.

Still just 17 on Draft day, Luciano has the kind of arm strength teams covet from their catchers, though he needs to keep working on his exchange to maximize that tool as well as his receiving and framing. The good news is the former Miami (Ohio) recruit has been working on those facets of his game with none other than Molina, with confidence he’ll be a very solid backup at worst, with the chance to develop into a big league regular the best-case outcome for the D-backs.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/05/2024	C Ivan Luciano assigned to ACL D-backs.
	07/22/2024	Arizona Diamondbacks signed C Ivan Luciano.
	06/16/2024	College Workout activated C Ivan Luciano.
	05/29/2024	C Ivan Luciano assigned to College Workout.
	09/26/2023	C Ivan Luciano assigned to High School Workout.