One of the early adopters of signing international players, the Giants cleaned up by landing Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal as well as the Alou brothers in the 1950s. That success dwindled in the first part of the 21st century, however, with San Francisco getting little from the global market beyond Pablo Sandoval in 2003.

The Giants' international fortunes began to change in 2018, however. Led by Joe Salermo and Felix Peguero, they assembled a potentially special class that summer. Venezuelan outfielder Luis Matos signed for $725,000 out of Venezuela and claimed San Francisco's center-field job this June at age 21.

• MLB Pipeline | Top 100 prospects | Prospect video

Now the prize of that crop has joined the Giants. They called up 21-year-old shortstop Marco Luciano on Wednesday to help fill a void created by injuries to starting middle infielders Thairo Estrada (left hand fracture) and Brandon Crawford (left knee inflammation). San Francisco snapped a six-game losing streak Tuesday night to maintain its hold on the final Wild Card berth in the National League but has scored just 11 runs in its last seven contests.

Ranked No. 15 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, Luciano could add some pop to a Giants lineup that ranks eighth in the NL in runs per game. He generates electric bat speed with his right-handed swing and produces double-plus raw power that plays to all fields.

While Luciano definitely is a big part of San Francisco's future, he may not be poised to make an immediate impact. He went 7-for-24 with two homers in six games in Triple-A, but before that, he hit .228/.339/.459 with 11 homers and a 30 percent strikeout rate in 56 Double-A contests.

A career .263/.358/.486 hitter in the Minors since signing for $2.6 million out of the Dominican Republic, Luciano always has been extremely young for his leagues but never has put up monster numbers or controlled the strike zone particularly well in full-season ball. He's both one of the best prospects in baseball and far from a polished product.

Luciano hits the ball harder than most players his age and can do more damage if he can become more selective at the plate. He gets overly aggressive at times and is particularly vulnerable against changeups. He does use the entire field and will take walks if pitchers refuse to challenge him, and with his aptitude for making adjustments at the plate, he eventually could develop into a .270 hitter with 35 homers per season.

Though Luciano never has played a pro game at any position other than shortstop, he probably faces a move in the future. His quick hands, strong arm and high baseball IQ help him at short, yet his quickness and range are just fringy. He would profile well at the hot corner, but slick-fielding Casey Schmitt may be the Giants' long-term answer at the hot corner.

For now, San Francisco hopes that Luciano can plug a hole at shortstop, where Schmitt has gone 2-for-25 while starting the last nine games there. Long term, the Giants plan to build their lineup around him.