SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> Marco Luciano, by his own admission, was “totally lost” in the batter’s box last season.

He never became the Giants’ starting shortstop. He never stuck in the majors, period. A year removed from being the heir apparent to Brandon Crawford, Luciano enters camp trying to win a spot on the bench — as an outfielder.

Luciano is in a new position, defensively and organizationally. He’s accepted his new reality. Over the next six weeks, he’ll be tasked with proving he deserves a spot on the Giants’ Opening Day roster.

“My mental process for this is: I need to do what I need to do,” Luciano said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “They have the last word. They will choose the best player that they feel is going to help the team. The only thing I can control is my performance and practice and continue developing myself here.”

The 23-year-old’s point of emphasis this spring will be growing comfortable with left and right field, two positions he’s never played in the majors or minors. Per manager Bob Melvin, Luciano’s reps will predominantly be in the outfield. Luciano said he’s played outfield in the past, but as a professional, he’s yet to have played a position other than shortstop or second base.

Luciano, who showed off his outfielder’s glove to reporters, admitted that he felt “a little bit uncomfortable” playing the outfield at the beginning of the offseason but became more comfortable as he took more reps. After working in the outfield with a trainer in the Dominican Republic this winter, Luciano said he plans to learn from his fellow outfielders in camp by making observations and asking questions.

“Mentally, I just have to accept it and move on and do what’s best for the team,” Luciano said. “They told me that changing positions was going to help the team, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Luciano is at a major disadvantage in the competition for the fourth outfield spot because Luis Matos and Grant McCray, who are also competing for the spot, have been outfielders for their entire careers. Given Luciano’s defensive inexperience, there’s a strong possibility that he begins this season with Triple-A Sacramento; Oracle Park isn’t exactly the easiest place to learn left or right field.

Since Matos and McCray have the upper hand in the defensively, Lucaino’s best bet of separating himself from the pack is with his bat.

Luciano’s calling card as a prospect was his raw power (as well as his bat speed), but he’s yet to unlock that pop in the majors. Over 41 career games, Luciano has a .217 batting average, .304 slugging percentage and no home runs. Luciano believes that his inability to hit for power last year was a product of him not being himself.

“I was doing things that I was not normally used to doing,” Luciano said. “It took me a while to identify what I was doing, so I worked on that. I think this year is going to be different because now I understand what I was doing wrong.”

Over 384 plate appearances with Triple-A Sacramento last season, Luciano pulled just 43.5% of balls he put in play. In the majors, by contrast, Luciano pulled the ball just 20.8% of the time. When asked about his opposite-field approach, Luciano said he believes he was prioritizing contact due to his struggles instead of trying to hit for power.

Hitters generally have more success when pulling the ball (.360 batting average last season) than pushing it to the opposite field (.291).

Luciano has had better success in his major-league career when he pushes the ball (.500 batting average) compared to pulls (.375 batting average).