Marco Luciano and MLB's 10 Best Power-Hitting Prospects in 2022

The home run reigns supreme in today's exit-velocity and launch-angle-focused game, and that mindset has trickled down into the minor leagues, where several of baseball's top prospects are also prolific power threats.

San Francisco Giants shortstop Marco Luciano might have the best bat speed in all of minor league baseball, and he has used it to generate some top-of-the-scale power, but he's far from the only prospect who could become a perennial 30-homer slugger in the majors in a few short years.

Ahead we've highlighted the 10 best power-hitting prospects in baseball based on a combination of on-field production, tools and projection.

Enjoy!

2022 Stats (Double-A): 49 G, 216 PA, .275/.347/.540, 26 XBH (12 HR), 32 RBI

After an impressive debut in rookie ball in 2019, New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez made the full-season jump last year and posted a .941 OPS with 24 home runs and 70 RBI as a 19-year-old.

He also homered in the Futures Game, where he put on a show during batting practice.

"In terms of sheer raw power, the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez was unmatched," wrote Josh Norris of Baseball America reporting from the annual prospect event. "The 19-year-old wunderkind deposited ball after ball into the deepest parts of center field thanks to an extremely strong frame that generates power to all sectors. His best blast landed halfway up the bleachers just to the left of center field.

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The Mets are being patient with his development as he refines the defensive part of his game, but all signs point to him being one of the game's elite offensive catchers in the not-too-distant future.

2022 Stats (Triple-A): 48 G, 223 PA, .232/.341/.432, 17 XBH (9 HR), 33 RBI

The Pittsburgh Pirates gave Oneil Cruz a two-game cup of coffee last season, and he went 3-for-9 with a home run while recording an elite exit velocity of 118.2 mph on one of his singles.

Earlier this season at Triple-A Indianapolis, he registered an exit velocity of 121.7 mph on a single. That's peak Giancarlo Stanton- and Aaron Judge-level hard contact, and when everything syncs up on his 6'7" frame, the shortstop has every bit as much raw power as those guys.

The 23-year-old scuffled through a rocky first month in the minors, but he had an .868 OPS with six home runs and 19 RBI in 22 games in May, and Cruz has been even better in June as he pushes for an MLB call-up.

2022 Stats (Single-A): 50 G, 217 PA, .264/.323/.406, 21 XBH (3 HR), 28 RBI

Blaze Jordan went viral on YouTube when he was 13 years old thanks to his prodigious power, and he ultimately reclassified from the 2021 to the 2020 draft class, where he was taken in the third round and signed to an above-slot bonus.

The third baseman will likely always have a power-over-contact approach, and the bulk of his value will come from his offensive game, but his power has been as advertised so far in the lower levels of the minors.

Still just 19 years old for the entirety of the 2022 season, it's only a matter of time before more of his doubles start to turn into home runs.

2022 Stats (High-A): 40 G, 164 PA, .288/.360/.507, 16 XBH (8 HR), 17 RBI

The No. 3 prospect on B/R's latest top-100 prospect list, San Francisco Giants shortstop Marco Luciano is poised to close out the 2022 season as the top prospect in all of baseball.

Signed to a $2.6 million bonus as one of the top prospects in the 2018 international crop, Luciano generates some of the best bat speed of any prospect, and that translates into elite raw power.

There is still room for his 6'2", 178-pound frame to continue filling out, and he may ultimately outgrow shortstop and shift to third base, but it's his middle-of-the-order potential that makes him one of the game's most exciting young up-and-comers.

2022 Stats (Double-A): 194 PA, .216/.289/.511, 22 XBH (15 HR), 37 RBI

Orelvis Martinez moved into the upper echelon of prospects last season when he posted an .895 OPS with 26 doubles and 28 home runs between Single-A and High-A in his age-19 season.

He has taken his lumps this season while making the jump to Double-A, batting just .216 with a 28.9 percent strikeout rate, but his impressive power is still present as he is tied for third in the Eastern League with 15 home runs.

Now splitting his time between shortstop and third base, his long-term home is likely at the hot corner, and he could be the next homegrown offensive star to join Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette as a cornerstone of the roster.

2022 Stats (Double-A): 52 G, 227 PA, .259/.379/.492, 24 XBH (9 HR), 34 RBI)

The Los Angeles Dodgers system just keeps churning out impact talent, and outfielder Andy Pages is part of the next wave of elite prospects that also includes Diego Cartaya and Miguel Vargas.

Pages, 21, has the best power of the bunch with a strong 6'1", 212-pound frame and natural leverage in his right-handed swing that allows him to make good use of his impressive raw power.

He posted a .933 OPS with 31 home runs in 120 games at High-A Great Lakes last season, and he has continued to rack up extra-base hits in the upper levels of the minors.

2022 Stats (Triple-A): 56 G, 238 PA, .290/.382/.640, 34 XBH (17 HR), 58 RBI

Vinnie Pasquantino has done nothing but hit since he was taken in the 11th round of the 2019 draft following a junior season at Old Dominion in which he batted .302/.405/.573 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI in 56 games.

The 24-year-old is a .296/.385/.588 hitter in 999 plate appearances in the minors, and after launching 24 home runs in 116 games last season, he ranks among the MiLB home run leaders through the first two months of the year.

MLB.com actually gave him a 60-grade hit tool, so he's more than just a slugger, and with struggling veteran Carlos Santana in the final year of his contract, it's only a matter of time before Pasquantino gets a shot at the starting first base job in Kansas City.

2022 Stats (Double-A): 50 G, 227 PA, .316/.410/.513, 24 XBH (6 HR), 25 RBI

With a 6'5", 220-pound frame coming out of high school, Jordan Walker was one of the most intriguing power prospects in the 2020 draft class, and the St. Louis Cardinals took him with the No. 21 overall pick.

Long levers raised some questions about his hit tool even though he fared well against high-level competition on the showcase circuit, but he quickly erased any doubts about his upside when he hit .317/.388/.548 with 14 home runs in 82 games between Single-A and High-A in his pro debut last year.

The third baseman has continued to impress as a 20-year-old at Double-A this season, steadily climbing prospect lists in the process, and it won't be long before he joins Nolan Gorman as a rising star in the big leagues.

2022 Stats (Double-A): 51 G, 218 PA, .271/.385/.519, 22 XBH (11 HR), 41 RBI

With a 6'5", 220-pound frame and a strong throwing arm, Matt Wallner fits the prototypical right fielder profile, and he has quietly pushed his way onto the Minnesota Twins' top 10 prospect list.

The 24-year-old slugged 58 home runs in three seasons at Southern Mississippi, including a 23-homer, 60-RBI season as a junior before he was taken No. 39 overall in the 2019 draft.

He missed time with a broken hamate bone last year but still finished with an .854 OPS and 15 home runs in 68 games. He then made up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .303/.405/.606 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 18 games.

Don't sleep on Wallner as someone who could soon appear on top-100 prospect lists.

2022 Stats (Double-A): 48 G, 216 PA, .285/.361/.570, 29 XBH (13 HR), 36 RBI

The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Joey Wiemer in the fourth round of the 2020 draft more on the strength of his impressive raw tools than on his performance over three seasons at the University of Cincinnati.

In his pro debut last year, he hit .296/.403/.556 with 27 home runs and 30 steals in 109 games between Single-A and High-A, and that sent his prospect stock soaring as a legitimate five-tool threat.

The outfielder hasn't missed at beat at Double-A Biloxi with 13 home runs and 17 steals in 48 games while continuing to showcase the entire tool box with his 6'5", 215-pound frame. He could be the Milwaukee Brewers' best homegrown offensive player since Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, and accurate through Saturday's games.