Arraez is pronounced: ARISE.

Luis learned how to hit when his father strung a baseball from the ceiling when he was just 3 years old.

“He said, ‘Are you hitting lefthanded or right?’“ Arraez recalled. “I was righthanded, but I wanted to hit lefthanded because (fellow Venezuelan) Endy Chavez, who played with the Mets, batted that way. So I swung and swung and swung that way. I still practice my swing every day.” (Phil Miller - Baseball America - April 2019)

November 21, 2013: Luis signed with Twins' scout Jose Leaon for $40,000 as a 16-year-old free agent, out of Venezuela.

Scouts seemed to focus only on Luis' deficiencies, rather than the fact he has a great bat.

"His (run) times weren’t great, his (batting practice) doesn’t blow you away, so he wasn’t a big shot. Teams passed on him,” Twins interim GM Rob Antony said in 2016. “We signed him, and he so impressed us in the (Rookie-level Gulf Coast League) last summer, that he skipped Rookie ball this year and went right to (low Class) A ball. He ended up being the catalyst on that team, just a relentless hitter. Now we get calls from other teams about him all the time.”

Best of all, Anton said, is how professional Arraez at-bats are.

“He looks like an ideal two-hole guy, an on-base machine,” Antony said. “Scouts look for guys who do everything well, but some guys have skills so advanced in one area, the rest of it doesn’t matter.” (Phil Miller - Baseball America - 11/4/2016)

In 2016, Luis ran away with the low Class A Midwest League batting title despite being one of the youngest players in the league.

Arraez hit .347/.386/.444 in 114 games. His .347 average has been topped by a Cedar Rapids player just twice since World War II—once by Howie Kendrick (.367 in 2004) and the other by Mike Trout (.362 in 2010).

In 2017, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Arraez as the 12th-best prospect in the Twins organization. He was at #15 a year later, early in 2018. He was at #11 in the spring of 2019.

Luis is a leader. He has an outgoing personality. He has a lot of energy.

MLB debut (May 13, 2019): After only a week after being promoted to Triple-A Rochester, Arraez was called up for the first time, joining the Twins for their road trip to Seattle and Los Angeles.

At this rate, he might soon become a permanent fixture in the dugout.

Arraez started at second base in the Twins’ 3-1 win over the Angels, going 3-for-4 and improving to 5-and-8 (a wild .625) with two walks and a double in his first three Major League games.

All that after smacking a double Saturday in his Twins debut and tacking up a single a day later.

His start ranks favorably in Twins history among rookies, as Arraez is one of nine players to notch five or more hits in the first three career games. And he did it with the fewest amount of plate appearances—10.

His nickname is LA REGADERA. It means “The Sprinkler,” which was given to him by fans in the Venezuelan Winter League because of his penchant for spraying line drives all over the field.

2019 season: The night of July 16 was when Twins fans really knew they had something special. Arraez, a relatively unknown infield prospect, inherited an 0-2 count against Mets fireballer Edwin Díaz and showed off his rare bat control and knowledge of the strike zone as he completed an 11-pitch plate appearance and drew a walk.

Since Arraez first arrived in mid-May as an emergency injury replacement, his batting average has hovered around .350 all season. He’s so confident of the strike zone that he will vigorously shake his head as close pitches sail by, and the Twins like his hitting so much that they’re having him learn left field on the fly to keep his bat in the lineup. Francona compared Arraez to Tony Gwynn earlier this season. That should say it all.

2019 Season: Entering the season, who could have thought that Twins fans would be waiting with bated breath to see whether or not Luis Arraez would be healthy enough to play in the ALDS? The 22-year-old infielder never had the pedigree of a top prospect during his rise through the Twins' organization due to his lack of power ability.

But his hit tool was undeniable as he hit at least .309 in every Minor League season. And he was quietly added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Arraez finally got a chance to show off those hitting skills in the Major Leagues when he received his first callup in mid-May—and boy, did he ever show them off. It took a rash of unforeseen injuries to clear Arraez's path to the Majors, but he crashed the party with seven hits in his first four games, didn't strike out until his eighth game and forced his way into a starting role. He hit .334/.399/.439 in 2019 with more walks (36) than strikeouts (29) and a maturity well beyond his years in his bat-to-ball ability and eye at the plate.

"I know I wasn't expecting for them to call me up as soon as they did," Arraez said. "But they did, and I took advantage of the opportunity. Here we are."

In fact, the Twins placed so much value in Arraez's bat that they even trusted him to learn left field on the fly in order to keep the rookie in the lineup. That's why it was no surprise that it was so important for Minnesota to have Arraez healthy for the ALDS.

"He was an exceptional player, a player who was essentially on base as much as any player in baseball who offered offensively the type of at-bats that almost no player can offer," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He does things that forces pitchers out of their comfort zone and ultimately doesn't just help in his particular at-bat but helps going forward. I truly believe that. I think he helps the players that are coming after him in that lineup. Every time he steps up to the plate, that pitcher leaves that at-bat in a bad place."

What went right in 2019?

In the year of the home run, Arraez was the ultimate throwback player—a line-drive hitter who avoided strikeouts and made contact at all costs. As a rookie with minimal experience against more advanced pitching in Triple-A (16 career games), Arraez led the Twins in batting average (.334) and on-base percentage (.399). He posted the ninth-highest batting average by a 22-year-old in the live-ball era, behind names like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio and ahead of the likes of Bryce Harper, Hank Aaron and Miguel Cabrera.

The underlying numbers also showed off Arraez's elite bat-to-ball ability. Arraez's 7.9 percent swinging-strike rate was the lowest among all Major Leaguers who swung at 500 or more pitches. His 32.3 percent line-drive rate on batted balls was fourth-best in the Majors among hitters who put at least 300 balls in play.

"He's a 22-year-old guy who's been in the big leagues a matter of months and we're shocked when he strikes out," Baldelli said in September. "Let's just think about that for a second. That's nuts. But then he goes back up there and throws another 20 at-bats up there and you almost say, 'I can't believe what I'm watching.' But now I completely believe what I'm watching." 

What went wrong in 2019?

Very little. Arraez sustained his performance across the entire season. And when he did get hurt in the final week of the regular season, sustaining a sprained ankle during a Sept. 28 game in Kansas City, he recovered in time to play in the ALDS a week later. What more can you ask for from a rookie?

"There was some sentiment around, empirically, that Arraez was one of our best hitters against the best pitching in the game from the point he was promoted to the big leagues," general manager Thad Levine said after the season. "We were really reluctant to have that type of player sitting on the sidelines in a short [Division] Series."

The only real hole in Arraez's game was on defense, where he was worth –8 Defensive Runs Saved at second base, the third-worst mark in the Majors among fielders who logged at least 350 innings at the position in 2019. But he did offer versatility to make up for that, as the Twins moved him around to shortstop, third base and left field according to their needs during the season.

Best moment of 2019?

Arraez was one of few Twins to excel in the ALDS against the Yankees, during which he overcame pain in his sprained ankle to still go 5-for-11 at the plate with four doubles. But the true highlight of Arraez's rookie season was a walk. Seriously.

The Twins trailed the Mets, 3-2, in a July 16 contest at Target Field. Jonathan Schoop tweaked his side as he fouled off an 0-2 offering from New York closer Edwin Díaz and was removed from the game, forcing Arraez into the unenviable situation of inheriting an 0-2 count as he stepped into the batter's box, cold, against 99-100 mph fastballs with movement.

The rookie immediately fouled off a 99.8 mph fastball, then again on 98.5 mph and 98.9 mph heaters to stay alive. He took a pair of pitches to even the count, and the crowd started to come to life. He fouled off another and took another ball to run the count full, before he even got a piece of a slider to stay in the at-bat. When the 11th pitch of the plate appearance missed up and away, he earned the one-out walk—and a roaring ovation from his home crowd.

"Pretty incredible," Baldelli said after the game. "You don’t see very many at-bats like that, really against any pitcher, but against a guy like Díaz, you’re certainly not going to see very many."  (DH Park - MLB.com - Nov 5, 2019)

In 2020, Luis battled some patellar issues that made him miss 28 games, half the season, but still had a batting average of .321 and a very high BABIP of .356.

2021 Season: Considered one of the Twins’ better long-term pieces, Arraez has seen his play decline in each of his three seasons in the league. Take a look at his slash lines since entering the league:

2019:  .334/.399/.439, 124 OPS+

2020:  .321/.364/.402, 113 OPS+

2021:  .294/.357/.376, 105 OPS+

His defense has improved significantly, but that consistent drop is worrisome for the Twins. Arraez hits for average well and gets on base. That’s it. His value is tied to him being a .300 hitter who gets on at 37% clip.  (Otto Johnson - Oct. 5, 2021) 

“It’s mind-blowing,” Twins reliever Emilio Pagán said. “It doesn’t make sense. Nobody should be able to get that many hits that many days in a row. He’s incredible. He puts a lot of work into it. I told him he’s going to win the batting title, be the All-Star first baseman. I want him to get the Gold Glove, too — do everything. He’s a really good player. He plays with a lot of energy. He’s one of the lifelines of this clubhouse.” (Hayes-TheAthletic.com-June 15, 2022)

In 2022, Luis won the AL Batting Title. Arraez finished with a .316 average after going 1 for 1 with a pair of walks against the White Sox. It was the lowest average for an AL batting champion since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski at .301 in 1968.

Luis made his first All-Star team and won his first batting title in 2022, hitting .316/.375/.420 for a career-high 130 OPS+, producing more walks (50) than strikeouts (43) and a career-high eight homers in 144 games. However, he also struggled through now-familiar leg problems in a mediocre second half and reached the bottom of the defensive spectrum at first base/designated hitter.

Arraez is one of the Twins’ best players and he’s only slightly older than a lot of prospects, but he’s also under team control for just three more years. He can be the connective tissue between the Twins’ current core and next core, but he can also be a free agent after 2025, capping his placement on this type of list in the same way being a singles hitter caps his value at first base/designated hitter.

Arraez committed to play for Venezuela in the 2023 WBC.

April 13, 2023: What did Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez do after becoming the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle? Once the celebrations and adrenaline wore down, Arraez took a call from mentor Nelson Cruz and happily showed off the baseball and lineup card from his historic night.

"I said he's got to call me every day, because when he called me [pregame Tuesday], I did something good," Arraez told MLB.com. "He didn't call me [Wednesday], and I got only one hit. But I'm happy when I do something good, and I give the credit to him.

"He's like my brother. Everything I do here is thanks to him, because he helped me a lot. He supports me a lot, he [told] me about how I need a clear routine."

Arraez and Cruz overlapped in Minnesota from 2019-21, and the four-time Silver Slugger quickly took the youngster under his wing by inviting him to the Dominican Republic to work out in the offseason. (Christina De Nicola)

It’s not that Luis Arraez can’t hit home runs or doesn’t hit home runs. He hit one on April 11 that traveled about 358 feet, a chip shot off Connor Brogdon that would not have cleared the fence in most ballparks, but it did in Philadelphia. Count it.

Sure, it was his only home run this year and, now in his fifth season in the big leagues, Arraez has hit a grand total of just 15 in his career. But the Marlins’ second baseman can hit them — he just doesn’t hunt them. It’s not that important to him.

“When I was a kid, I hit a couple homers, because I got them inside the park,” he said. “But it’s hard to hit inside-the-park homers in the majors. I just try to get a lot of hits instead.”

In that same game, Arraez also hit a triple, a double and a single — the first cycle in Marlins history. Home runs are a dime a dozen these days, but cycles are rare. And Arraez finds hits more often than anybody in baseball.

As of June 8, Arraez was hitting .403, by far the highest average in the major leagues, more than 70 points better than the next-best hitter. He is the first player since Atlanta’s Chipper Jones in 2008 to hit north of .400 this deep into a season.

No player has finished a season with at least a .400 average since Boston’s Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. With each passing year, it seems, the feat becomes less likely. Hitting .400 has edged toward the list of unbreakable baseball records, like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.

“I just try to get a hit every day. If I have five at-bats, I want five hits,” Arraez said. “I’m not hitting for power, so I just put the ball in play. Doubles, singles. If I hit the ball to the gap, I try to run hard to second or get my triple.”

Even among most hitters who flirted for a time with .400, Arraez is an extreme outlier. He rarely walks and strikes out less often than any other player this season. Only four hitters in the league are striking out in less than 10 percent of their trips to the plate and Arraez strikes out nearly half as often as the other three.

Arraez and his flirtation with .400 is both a throwback and, perhaps, a preview of what’s coming. But he is not simply doing what hitters once did regularly, he’s also rewriting the playbook. A year ago with Minnesota, Arraez won the AL batting title with a .316 average, the lowest number to win a batting title since Gwynn and his .313 average in 1988.

He has proved that winning his batting title was no fluke. After an offseason trade to Miami, Arraez is now hitting 90 points better in a new league, so far in front of the rest of the field that he is a clear frontrunner to win again. If he does, Arraez would become the first player to win a batting title in both leagues over full seasons. (DJ LeMahieu won a batting title with the Rockies in 2016 and with the Yankees in the 2020 shortened season.)

“I don’t think what he’s doing is talked about enough because the home run is what everybody wants to talk about,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Average has always mattered to me. I felt like, if you come to the ballpark and you look up, you want to see a 3 in front of your name. You feel good about that.

Arraez’s hit tool comes from his eyes, Schumaker said, and the quickness of his hands. His ability to control the strike zone is among the best in the league and he knows almost precisely what pitches he can hit. When he swings at a pitch outside the zone, he connects more than 93 percent of the time, nearly 10 percent more often than the next most aggressive hitter.

And he swings and misses only 2.5 percent of the time. Over the past decade, no hitter has swung and missed at fewer pitches than Arraez. "I’m an aggressive hitter. And I hate strikeouts,” Arraez said. “I’m good at making contact. I don’t have any speed, so I just try to see the ball and put it in play. If I’m a scout, I’d sign me, because if we need somebody to hit the ball, it’s me.” (Groke - Jun 9, 2023 - The Athletic)

To his new teammates, the Louis Vuitton bag Luis Arraez rolls into the clubhouse before every road trip may give the appearance of a player who likes to travel fashionably. But to the Miami Marlins hitter, and baseball’s best candidate to hit .400 in 15 years, the garment bag is a token of persistence and determination.

Arraez, who went 3-for-4 to bring his season average back up to .402, earned the luxury item last October by successfully holding off Aaron Judge and winning the first batting title of his career. He accomplished the feat despite being severely limited for the final three months of the season by a sore left hamstring.

The suitcase was a carrot dangled in front of Arraez by former Minnesota Twins teammate Carlos Correa. With three games left in the 2022 season, Correa made Arraez an offer.

If Arraez triumphed and fended off Judge, who was attempting to complete a prestigious Triple Crown by leading the American League in hitting, home runs and runs batted in, Correa would gift him the suitcase he’d purchased earlier in the day.

If not, Correa would return the item.

Though his injury forced him to sit out the first game of the final series in 2022, Arraez played two contests, going 2-for-5 and drawing two walks to finish the season hitting .316, five points ahead of Judge.

“It was a special thing,” Arraez said earlier this month. “That was a big year for me. I was excited. Correa said, ‘Hey, if you win the batting title, I’ll give you a suitcase.’ I knew I had to win. This year is another year for me. I just try to work hard every day, do my routine every day and then put it in the game. Go out and play baseball and try to do my thing there.”

Former teammate Nelson Cruz isn’t surprised by how well Arraez is hitting.

The pair worked out and hit together for a second straight offseason at Cruz’s home in the Dominican Republic. Whereas the previous winter Arraez was starting from scratch with Cruz’s rigorous offseason program and needed to lose weight, this year the base was already in place.

Arraez spent the previous winter focused on building leg strength to help boost knees and hamstrings that have troubled him since he was a minor leaguer. The workouts were so intense Arraez vomited on the first day he participated in them after the end of the 2021 season. This year’s program went a lot smoother.

“Unique guy,” Cruz said last month. “He lost some weight last year. Got some muscle this year and looks stronger. The results, they speak for themselves. He’s hitting the ball with authority. He’s healthy. That’s the most important thing. Definitely the change (with) his body, the way he’s working out with intelligence — he knows what to do every single day to stay on the field.”

The Marlins thought their players might benefit from seeing how Arraez conducts himself on a daily basis. 

One of the players the Marlins thought would be most influenced is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who moved from second base to center field to make room for Arraez. Not only did the Marlins want Chisholm to learn from Arraez’s game, they hoped it might make him more outgoing. It’s one of the reasons the Marlins were willing to pay a heavy cost to trade for Arraez and part with López, who was beloved in the clubhouse.

General manager Kim Ng said the Marlins gave Arraez the locker directly next to Chisholm in the clubhouse. Rather than spend his pre-games buried on his phone listening to music, Chisholm said he’s engaging more with teammates because Arraez involves everyone.

“We didn’t expect it, but we were hopeful things like that would come up,” Ng said. “We thought the personalities would meld and they’d feed off each other. This guy is just a hit machine. Obviously, he won a batting title last year and the personality is off the charts as well.”

Before he was sidelined for turf toe last month, Chisholm also followed Arraez everywhere in an attempt to glean information from the veteran’s game.

“His bat-to-ball skills, the way he thinks about an at-bat, the way he goes about his at-bats, the way he goes about his routine,” Chisholm said. “His routine is half of mine now. I’m just trying to figure it out a little bit more like he has. It’s just a process and I feel like I’m getting better.” 

Asked two weeks ago if he could hit .400, he replied: “I don’t know. But if I’m healthy, I think I can do a lot of good things. If I feel good, let’s see what happens.”

Ted Williams was the last player to accomplish the feat, hitting .406 in 1941.

“It’s the contact,” Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks said. “He’ll go up there with a plan and sometimes he’ll take the first pitch, sometimes he’ll get aggressive with the first pitch, sometimes he’ll be sitting on a breaking ball. He’s able to make snap adjustments, quicker than almost anybody in the league and he doesn’t miss. Even when he’ll mishit a ball and it still has a chance to get a hit.

“The amount of time I’ve gotten him to two strikes, I’ve never been able to put him away. It’s extremely impressive. He puts the ball in play, he forces action, which is always annoying as a pitcher.” (Hayes - Jun 24, 2023 - The Athletic)

July 2023: Arraez was chosen to start at second base for the NL at the MLB All-Star Game.

He entered the MLB All-Star Game hitting .383, the highest average of any All-Star in more than two decades. And then he exited after hitting 1.000 in this All-Star Game. If that isn’t a sign this is a man on a magical journey, then what the heck is?

“It’s incredible,” said Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., after the National League’s stirring, come-from-behind 3-2 win over the American League. “He’s a hitting machine. And it’s incredible to do it in a tough league like this one.”

“Every time he hits the ball,” said the Braves’ Matt Olson, “it goes where nobody’s standing. I’m sure the high-analytics guys don’t like it because he doesn’t hit the ball 115 mph. But the guy’s got some of the best bat-to-ball skills I’ve ever seen. I mean, it’s an art of hitting — of hitting the ball where they’re not. There are very few guys where you feel like he’s actually picking the holes that he’s hitting them in. But that’s really how it seems.”

“I think Tony Gwynn-ish is probably the best comp,” Giants pitcher Alex Cobb said. “You know, he just has that bat-to-ball, that put-the-ball-anywhere-on-the-field gift. I would love to see his hit chart. I bet it’s foul line to foul line.”

Wait. Did he just drop a Tony Gwynn-ish on us? Good call, because Arraez was actually the first man since Gwynn to have an All-Star Game quite like this. How?

• Entered the All-Star Game with an average of .383 or higher (and at least 200 plate appearances in the first half).

• Then he had a multi-hit game, while driving in at least one run.

• In 1941, Ted Williams had a day like that on the way to .406 land in 1941, punctuated by his legendary game-winning All-Star home run off Claude Passeau in the ninth inning.

Only three other men have had a game that fits that definition since Williams:

– Tony Gwynn, 1994 — Came in batting .383, went 2 for 5, with a two-run double versus David Cone early and a memorable 10th-inning single that allowed him to score the winning run on a Moises Alou double.

– Rod Carew, 1983 — Went 2 for 3, with an RBI and an intentional walk — reaching base three times in the first three innings. Carew’s RBI single came in the third … and scored fellow Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

–Stan Musial, 1948 — Went 2 for 4, with two RBIs that both came on a two-run home run in the first inning off Walt Masterson, a blast that also scored a fellow future Hall of Famer, Richie Ashburn.

And that’s everyone … until Luis Arraez.

“See the ball, hit the ball,” Arraez said afterward, wearing a smile that seemed as wide as Key Biscayne. “I just come here to enjoy it, but also to do my job. So that’s why I’m here. I enjoy the game a lot. It’s a beautiful sport. And it’s special to play this game with a lot of star players and enjoy myself.”

“Everybody supported me here,” he said. “I was surprised. Especially Freddie (Freeman), Mookie Betts, (Ronald) Acuña, the Latin players. They support me. They say, ‘Hey, go do it. Go play hard. Enjoy playing the game. And you can hit .400.’ I say, ‘It’s hard. I’m a human. But let’s see what happens when I’m finished my season.’”

Arraez admitted he was blown away by those words. Little did he know his All-Star teammates were even more blown away by him.

“I think we’re all cheering him on,” Freeman said. “He’s incredible to watch.”

“He was one of my favorite people to meet at this All-Star Game,” Cobb said. “Obviously, what he’s doing is really special. But I think that when you meet people and you find out they’re good people, that’s even more special. And he’s that. He comes up to you, and I feel like he’s the center of baseball right now, right up there with Shohei (Ohtani). But he wants to talk about you and tells you nice stuff about facing you. He’s just a really kind human. So it was really cool to get to see that.” (Stark - Jul 12, 2023 - The Athletic)

Sept 21, 2023: Too slow. Too skinny. No power.

Marlins All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez has heard it all since he was a kid in the Las Flores de Tacarte neighborhood of San Felipe in central-western Venezuela. Nearly 20 years later, the perpetual underdog has proved the doubters wrong by blossoming into one of baseball's best hitters. Arraez is on the cusp of becoming the first player in American League/National League history to win the batting title in each league in back-to-back seasons.

It all began when Arraez, a natural righty, would pick up his plastic bat left-handed to strike a ball hung from the family's mango tree. His father, Ernesto, taught him to swing for left field, where he insisted hits could be found. That mentality transformed Luis into "La Regadera" or "The Sprinkler," spraying balls across the field.

"I said, 'OK, if you're going to hit lefty, just stick to it,'" Ernesto said via Marlins interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. "I taught him how to catch the ball, how to field before he was part of the league, because when we were going to sign him up, the tournament already started, so we needed to find time. I used to finish work at 6 [p.m.] from driving as a bus driver, and then dedicated two to four hours with him practicing after work." 

Arraez was the best hitter from the moment he started organized baseball at the age of 8. He soon began training at the Felix Olivo Academy in Valencia, where he competed for Venezuela in international tournaments. At 15 years old, Arraez pitched seven innings to beat Brazil in a competition held in Mexico. While many of the players had agreed to high signing bonuses with MLB clubs by this time, Arraez remained unsigned.

Little did Arraez know that José León, then coordinator of scouting for the Twins in Venezuela, was impressed by what he saw. León soon invited Arraez to the Twins' Academy, at the time located in Bejuma, Venezuela, for likely his last chance at a professional baseball career. Two months later, León informed Arraez that there was no money to sign him, so the teenager resigned himself to a life without baseball.

"I went home and I said, 'Mom, sorry, but I don't want to play anymore baseball. I want to go to the school now and focus as a student,'" Arraez recalled.

Luckily for Arraez, León fought for him -- a common theme among his greatest supporters and mentors. León later met with the Arraez family, gathering for a meal of soup and arroz con coco, when he offered a contract worth $40,000. Arraez signed on Nov. 6, 2013.

"He had fallen into depression after that, didn't want to do anything at all," his mother Maria said, with Dorante interpreting. "I told him that he was going to sign, to trust God that he was going to sign, trust himself. But there was nothing to get him up. His older brother one time took him out to the fields to talk. I don't know exactly what they talked about, but when he came back, he was a little more happy. Luis said it didn't matter much [about] the money, but he wanted to just show his talent, which is the most important thing." And that Arraez did. His professional debut in 2014 was exactly what you might expect with the benefit of hindsight. He batted .348 with no homers and walked more than he struck out in 31 Dominican Summer League games. When it came time for Arraez to move stateside, DSL manager Jimmy Alvarez reached out to Ramon Borrego, then the third-base coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins, and told him to be on the lookout for Arraez.

It didn't take long for Borrego to believe in Arraez's potential. In his first at-bat, Arraez quickly fell behind with two strikes only to foul off 12 pitches and then send a sharp line drive down the left-field line. It was quintessential Arraez.

Batting was clearly Arraez's strength, so Borrego implemented a routine to clean up his defense. Arraez moved from shortstop to second base, which gave him a shorter throw and more time to transfer the ball.

"If I was a manager, I would love to have nine Luis Arraezes playing in the field," Borrego said. "I'm going to win a lot of World Series. It's because he plays with passion, he cares, every little detail. He wants to win, and he's all about it."

Despite his production, Arraez encountered more detractors. He wasn't among the prospects invited to the fall instructional league in 2015. Once again, he needed someone to vouch for him. This time, it was Borrego, who had been given the responsibility of handing out the invitations. Borrego convinced the front office to include Arraez. The following spring, Borrega learned Arraez was going to be sent back to Rookie-level ball and pleaded his case for a promotion.

Arraez went on to win the 2016 Midwest League batting title with a .347 average at Single-A Cedar Rapids, becoming Minnesota's No. 28 prospect per MLB Pipeline. Unfortunately, Arraez would play in just three games at High-A Fort Myers in '17 after undergoing right ACL surgery. Upon his return in '18, Arraez combined to hit .310 between Fort Myers and Double-A Chattanooga. But the Twins sent him back to the Double-A level in '19, something he didn't want.

"Your journey in this profession has been so hard since Day 1 that you signed, so be patient," Borrego told him. "That's the best to do. Be patient, wait for your chance. Don't put pressure on yourself and play the game the way you're playing."   Arraez spent 38 games at Double-A Pensacola before joining Triple-A Rochester, where he lasted just 16 games. With Nelson Cruz landing on the injured list, Arraez received his first Major League callup as Minnesota's corresponding move and made his debut on May 18, 2019. From 2019-21, Arraez hit .313 in 245 games but twice missed time with knee injuries. Arraez wasn't satisfied, so he asked Cruz if he could train during the 2021-22 offseason at his home in the Dominican Republic. A four-time Silver Slugger and seven-time All-Star during a 19-year career, Cruz preached the importance of taking care of one's body, eating healthier and getting stronger. Workouts began at 8 a.m. inside the cage before taking the field for ground balls and running. They would return to the gym to work out from 1:30-2 p.m. After a siesta, it was more hitting at night. They followed this schedule every day, including Sundays. During the first workout, Arraez threw up because he wasn't used to the intensity.

Around this time, Cruz also introduced Arraez to his personal hitting coach, Frank Valdez, who has had a facility in Miami for 21 years. To this day, Valdez and Arraez spend 15-20 minutes on a daily hitting routine -- regardless of whether he's on the road or at home -- that includes tee work with a small and normal-sized bat.

"He left his family behind, everything, to just get better, and he lost like 20 pounds and got some muscles and his body started to change," Cruz said. "And then the last year, obviously, his body was totally different than the year before. Now, he's getting muscle and getting stronger.

"I'm really proud of the way he has been taking care of himself. He's matured through the years, and even more this year. He's a leader in the clubhouse and field. You can see the way he carries himself on and off the field. He always asked me how he can get better. You don't see that very often. I told him, 'The same thing that I'm doing for you, help you with not only information or whatever -- I think life in general -- you have to do it for somebody else. If you see somebody that needs help, just go and grab him and bring in the help that they need. That's the only thing that I ask.'" The hard work quickly paid dividends for Arraez, who made the 2022 All-Star team, won the AL batting title (.316) and received an AL Silver Slugger Award. Coming off a career year, Arraez never thought the organization that gave him a chance as a 16-year-old and developed him would trade him. But that's exactly what happened this past January in a deal that included right-hander Pablo López.

General manager Kim Ng, looking for ways to upgrade the offense, wanted to add a pure hitter. Arraez fit that mold. His Statcast metrics in categories like exit velocity didn't jump off the page, but his strike-zone recognition and swing decisions were unmatched.

Cruz had heard rumblings that a trade was impending. It was confirmed when he saw a bunch of calls from the Twins.

"I told the Twins, 'I faced Pablo, he's a great, great pitcher, no doubt, and I think you guys need pitching, everybody needs pitching, but Arraez, he's good, he's ready, his body is stronger,'" Cruz said. "'If you can stop the trade, do it.'"

But the trade was completed, and Arraez has taken his game to another level in 2023, flirting with a .400 batting average into the Midsummer Classic and making a second consecutive All-Star team. Once considered a defensive liability, he has six defensive runs saved as the everyday second baseman for the first time in his career.

Most importantly, underdog Miami remains in the thick of the NL Wild Card race thanks to Arraez's contributions.

"Our team is sort of an enigma, and he fits right in there," Ng said. "He's just not necessarily what our game values immensely today. But I think he's definitely opened some eyes. He's just one of those guys that, until you see him every day, whether it's on the field or off the field, how he approaches his workout here, seeing him in the clubhouse, [he's] just always up. He's sort of this love-of-life kind of guy. He's been just such a great add for the demeanor and the personality of our team." Every time Arraez takes the field, there's a chance at history. He recorded the franchise's first cycle in April and a trio of five-hit games within a two-week span. His trajectory seemed improbable to many, but not to him or his family -- who will get to see him play in person for the first time this weekend in Miami.

"Because I work hard for this and I trust myself," Arraez said. "When I wake up, I say, 'Hey, you can do this. You can do this, and I'll go forward.' This is a big season for me. Baseball is hard, but I just come here and enjoy the game." (CD Nicola - MLB.com - Sept 21, 2023)

Sept 28, 2023: Luis Arraez is a two-time All-Star and a batting champion. He has appeared in 535 big league games, but none in front of his biggest fans until the Sept 22 game at loanDepot park.

The day before, Luis picked up his parents, Ernesto and Maria, from Miami International Airport after they traveled from Venezuela to Colombia to obtain a visa in order to visit the United States. Luis then brought them to his home, where they played dominoes and ate pasticho from Venezuela. He gifted them personalized All-Star Game jerseys with Arraez on the back to wear when they finally saw him in pro ball. It was a moment nearly seven years in the making.

"It means a lot," Arraez said. "They are my everything. They are my family. My mom and my dad, I've worked hard for them, and I feel pretty good, and I'm excited for them."

Hours before the series opener against the Brewers, a starstruck Ernesto was greeted by his son's teammates and coaches inside the home clubhouse.

"I'm super proud," Ernesto said, as interpreted by El ExtraBase's Daniel Álvarez-Montes. "There are no words to describe the pride that we feel, but I was like dreaming. I never thought I was going to be able to be in a clubhouse with big leaguers. And then when I saw [Jorge] Soler, [Josh] Bell, [Avisaíl] Garcí­a, it was like, 'Wow.' I felt super proud to see my boy around them, and I've been so overwhelmed by the support from the coaches for us from everybody. I'm super proud." When Luis was a kid, Ernesto would hang a mango or elote from a tree so the youngster could practice his left-handed swing with a plastic bat. After hanging out in the clubhouse, Ernesto watched batting practice from the field, at one point holding onto his son's bat. "And then I broke my first bat," Arraez said. "And I said, 'That's your fault, because you touched my bat.' But I was just kidding with him. That was a really special day for me, and then for him."

The Arraez family -- Ernesto, Maria and Luis' wife, two daughters and sister -- were at the ballpark all weekend. Luis got only one at-bat before being pulled in Friday's lopsided loss, then aggravated his left ankle in the next days' win. He has not played since. His parents didn't come on this week's trip, but if Miami reaches the postseason, Luis will be sure they tag along.

"I'm obviously very proud, like super, super proud, because we've been dreaming about this for so many years," Maria said, as interpreted by Álvarez-Montes. "We traveled around the whole country [of Venezuela]. We got to know the whole country for different tournaments for Luis, and we always dreamt about this. We had one of Luis' coaches from his youth time congratulating us, and I said, 'You see, we finally made it.' Every time I see him, I just hug him and kiss him, because we're finally making it and we're here together. I'm super happy and super proud." (CD Nicola - MLB.com - Sept 28, 2023)

 2023 Season:  Timeline

January 20—traded from Minnesota Twins to Miami Marlins in exchange for Pablo López and prospects José Salas and Byron ChourioMarch 11-18—represented Venezuela in the World Baseball ClassicApril 12—went 4-for-5 in Philadelphia en route to authoring the first cycle in Marlins historyJune 25—entered play hitting .401 ahead of his 73rd game of the seasonJuly 11—collected two hits and an RBI in MLB All-Star GameSeptember 15—recorded first career multi-HR game in 9-6 comeback victory against AtlantaSeptember 18—became first Marlin since Dee Strange-Gordon in 2015 to collect 200 hits in a seasonSeptember 19—sprained left ankle during pre-game infield practiceNotable 2023 statistics: .354 BA, 203 H, 5.5 K%, 133 OPS+, 4.9 rWAR

In what was arguably the boldest trade of Kim Ng’s tenure, the Marlins packaged Pablo López and a pair of prospects to the Twins for Luis Arraez. Although fresh off winning the AL batting title, the acquisition of Arraez was risky considering the immense value going the other way and some of the perceived limitations to his game.

Fortunately, the deal paid dividends for both sides. Minnesota quickly locked up López long term, and he responded with a 234-strikeout regular season and two stellar postseason outings for a Twins team that won the AL Central. As for Miami, Arraez thrived under MLB’s new shift restrictions, flirting with a .400 batting average deep into the summer and ultimately finishing at .354 to win his second consecutive batting title.

Arraez is the first player since Josh Hamilton (.359 in 2010) to best a .350 batting average in a non-shortened season and he became the first player ever to win consecutive batting titles in both the American and National League. His new employer also made their first full-season playoff appearance since 2003, thanks in large part to the starring role Arraez played. (LOUIS ADDEO-WEISS - OCTOBER 19, 2023)

Nov 5, 2023: NL winner: Luis Arraez, Marlins (second win) Marlins NL Silver Slugger Award at 2B 

Arraez and Ted Williams were often mentioned in the same sentence this season, as Miami’s sparkplug carried a .400 average into late June. Arraez, who ended up at .354, won his second straight Silver Slugger on the back of his second straight batting title, a historic accomplishment. Following an offseason trade from the Twins, Arraez became the first player during the Modern Era (since 1900) to earn a batting title in each league in consecutive seasons. 

Arráez pauses and smirks. “Actually, you know what I need?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. “I want to go to the playoffs and win the playoffs. And then I want to go to the World Series and…”

Laughing, he points to his empty right ring finger, which would be a nice spot for a championship ring. “I really want to win the World Series,” he says. Nicknamed “La Regadera” (The Sprinkler) for the way he sprays hits all over the field, Arráez has brought fire and fun to a team that hasn’t lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy since 2003. He is the team’s spark plug, Marlins coaches say, the motivator who inspires his teammates to want what he wants just as badly as he wants it. However, there was a time when Arráez thought that maybe this journey wasn’t in the cards for him, that no matter how talented or determined he was, no matter how much he loved baseball, he was destined to be a P.E. teacher. 

Arráez’s tale is a bit of a hero’s journey, a story about a humble guy who answered a calling that tested him along the way, only to emerge stronger and wiser. Born in San Felipe, Venezuela, Arráez demonstrated a gift for baseball when he was 8 years old. His father came home from working an 11-hour bus-driving shift every day to find him sitting in the yard, glove in hand, ready to practice. After getting something to eat, Arráez’s father hung a ball from a mango tree and instructed his son to hit it every time it swung back in his direction. The repetition—and the directive to bat left-handed instead of right-handed—is what unleashed the young slugger’s knack for getting on base.

“I hate striking out,” Arráez says (impishly adding that his older brother, who once played third base, used to do it a lot). “I would cry when I struck out. I asked my dad if he remembered how I used to do that, and he told me, ‘Yes, you cried a lot. But you are human.’” “I talked a lot with my mom and [older] sister,” Arráez recalls. “I told them I didn’t want to play baseball. I would be a student and try to do something different. I would be a P.E. teacher, because I love to help people and want to teach kids. My mother told me to stay positive and keep training because I can do a lot of good things.” 

Arráez describes himself as a bit of a homebody. When he wasn’t practicing in the offseason, he was driving his 6-year-old daughter, Emma, to and from school and playing with her and his 4-year-old daughter, Esther. With newborn Esthela in the mix, he and Gladys have a busy but happy household.

2023 was the year that everything came together. It was when his sister and parents, who stood by him and reminded him who he was in his hardest moments, were finally able to get the visas they needed to see him play professional baseball in person. 

“I want to win,” he says. “And if my teammates are practicing with me, then we can get a lot of good things.”

Like championship rings. (Bowers - Feb 27, 2024 - Adventura Magazine)

Tattoos: Arraez’s tattoos are images of him with his daughters, Emma and Esther. He and his wife, Gladys, recently welcomed baby girl Esthela, so Arraez plans on adding ink to honor her next offseason. “I feel like I've got my daughters close to me,” Arraez said. (Christina De Nicola - Feb. 29, 2024) 

Comparisons with a pair of Hall of Famers have followed him wherever he goes. 

“One of my friends called me ‘Little Tony Gwynn,’” Arraez said. “And then, especially the fans from Minnesota called me ‘Little Rod Carew.’ That’s amazing for me.”

As Arraez spoke outside the San Diego Padres’ clubhouse this week, those connections felt as relevant as ever. On a Saturday last month, hours after being traded by the Miami Marlins, the infielder debuted for the same franchise that built a statue of Gwynn. Arraez, the only player to win a batting title in the American and National leagues across consecutive seasons, doubled in his first at-bat. In a blowout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he went on to collect three more hits. And he later learned that Carew, his mentor, was once a mentor to Gwynn.

“Tony and I were great friends,” Carew said in a recent phone interview.

Now, the knowledge of that relationship is inspiring a spiritual successor.

“It’s big, big for me,” Arraez said. 

In a sport that has increasingly valued power production over contact ability, Carew seldom felt that way about anyone else after Gwynn’s retirement. Then, during a 2016 visit to the Twins’ affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Carew met a teenager who finished that season hitting .347. A few years later, they reconnected during big-league spring training.

Carew began to share his secrets.

“He’s like my grandfather,” Arraez said. “He’s taught me a lot of good things, especially for the game.” 

Some of Carew’s secrets are more lost art than encrypted code. “He’s really learned how to track the ball,” Carew said. “No one can throw a pitch by you, because you know to look at where the ball is coming from and track it all the way until you get ready to hit. It’s rare to see a guy that can do that. And he’s one of the few kids in today’s game that tries to track the ball all the way.” 

Arraez is among a dwindling collection of players who pay little attention to metrics like launch angle and exit velocity. He owns the slowest average swing in the majors but also the highest squared-up rate. (“They wish to be like me,” Arraez said of his outlier bat-tracking profile.) He has just 25 career home runs and, already, 67 games of three or more hits.

“I got power, too, but it’s not my game,” Arraez, 27, said. “My game is just getting base hits and getting on base.” (Lin - Jun 13, 2024 - The Athletic)

July 2024: Arraez was selected as a reserve to the All-Star Game.



TRANSACTIONS

November 21, 2013: Luis signed with Twins' scout Jose Leaon for $40,000 as a 16-year-old free agent, out of Venezuela.

Jan 20, 2023: Thei Marlins traded RHP Pablo López, SS Jose Salas and OF Byron Chourio to the Twins; acquiring 2B Luis Arraez.

Feb 2, 2023: Arraez won his arbitration hearing against the Marlins; he will earn $6.1 million in 2023.

Arraez has a great hit tool, and a little power may come along later. He has incredible hand-eye coordination This is a truly natural hitter with excellent bat control for steady, frequent contact. He hits to all fields with a line-drive, inside-out swing.

Also, Luis is a lefthanded hitting second baseman. He hits for a good average but not much home run power. He hits the ball to the opposite field about half the time. But his power is just pull side.

Luis is learning to handle heat on the inner half of the plate.

“He knows what he’s doing with the bat in his hands,” said first-year Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who has been impressed with Arraez’s first big league camp, particularly his hustle during workouts and his mastery at the plate.

Arraez, whose crouch in the batter’s box squeezes his strike zone, has nearly as many walks as strikeouts in his career.

“He looks like he’s played in the big leagues already,” Baldelli said. (Spring, 2019)

Luis is the type of hitter that Cedar Rapids hitting coach Brian Dinkelman appreciates.

"He's got the kind of swing that gives him a chance every time up," Dinkelman said in 2016. "It's short and helps him use all fields well. He's got good strike zone awareness and puts together good at-bats. He'll find his pitch to hit and when he does, he won't miss it. When you do that with consistency and hit the ball hard, you're gonna hit .300.

"Arraez consistently has the same approach, has good at-bats, and makes solid contact. He's just so consistent all of the time. Hopefully, he'll develop even more strength as he gets into his 20s."

Luis has always manifested excellent plate discipline.

April 2020: When you're a rookie with half a season of service time under your belt and Terry Francona is publicly comparing you to Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew, you're probably doing all right with your hit tool. As for us, let's hold off on putting the 23-year-old Arraez next to some of the greatest contact hitters of all time for now, but let's also acknowledge the phenomenal rookie season he had in 2019. That year, he strayed from the power-hitting, high-strikeout trend of modern baseball to hit .334/.399/.439 with more walks (36) than strikeouts (29).

Two factors play into that: Arraez's discerning eye at the plate and his extreme bat control. Arraez's 24.3 percent chase rate (percent of swings that came outside of the zone) wasn't elite but still within the top quartile of hitters, and more importantly, he coupled that with the lowest whiff rate in the Majors (7.9 percent) of any hitter with at least 600 swings.

That ability was why players had been hearing the rumblings about the kid that hit at least .309 in every Minor League season before Arraez was even up in the Majors putting up those numbers before their eyes with a seamless transition to the game's highest level. Arraez might not hit too many balls with authority, but there are few hitters in the Majors that have his bat-to-ball and pure hitting ability.  –Do-Hyoung Park

2022 Season: Arraez is the American League’s batting champion, alone atop the leaderboard with a .316 average after Minnesota’s 10-1 win over Chicago at Guaranteed Rate Field, with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge ceding the honor to the Twins’ young contact king by sitting in the season finale after setting a new AL home run record.

It marks the Twins’ first batting title since 2009.

Nov 10, 2022: Along with winning his first career Silver Slugger this season, Arraez also earned his first All-Star selection and took home the AL batting title after hitting .316 for the Twins. Overall, he slashed .316/.375/.420 (.795 OPS) and spent time at first base, second base and third base, while also making 38 appearances as a designated hitter and another 13 as a pinch-hitter.

April 11, 2023: Arraez became the first Florida Marlin to hit for the cycle.

June 6, 2023: Arraez became the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to eclipse the .400 batting mark in a single season. Thanks to a four-game stretch this week that saw him go a combined 12-for-17, including a 2-for-4 effort in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Kansas City Royals, Arraez was able to raise his batting average to .401 for the season. 

June 19, 2023: Arraez is only the fourth player since 1900 to have three 5-hit games in a single month. He joined Dave Winfield in June 1984; Ty Cobb in July 1922;  George Sisler in August 1921.

Sept. 18, 2023: Arraez has reached 200 hits for the first time in his MLB career.

Oct. 1, 2023: Arraez captures back-to-back batting titles  The 26-year-old Arraez became only the second player in the Modern Era to capture a batting title in both leagues, joining DJ LeMahieu (Rockies in 2016, Yankees in ‘20), and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons. His .354 average (147 games) is the highest in a full season since the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton's .359 in 2010. The 17-point gap over the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (.337) is the largest in the league since '18, when Mookie Betts (.346) led Red Sox teammate J.D. Martinez (.330) by 16 points.

Nov. 2023: Arraez and Ted Williams were often mentioned in the same sentence this season, as Miami’s sparkplug carried a .400 average into late June. Arraez, who ended up at .354, won his second straight Silver Slugger on the back of his second straight batting title, a historic accomplishment. Following an offseason trade from the Twins, Arraez became the first player during the Modern Era (since 1900) to earn a batting title in each league in consecutive seasons.

You know how many four-hit games he had last month (May 2024)? That would be four. It was his first month as a Padre.

You know how many other Padres in history have had that many games with four hits or more in any calendar month? That answer is … none! And yes, Tony Gwynn was a Padre. But his biggest month was three games of four hits or more, in June of 1989. So he never did it.

And yes, Dave Winfield, Garry Templeton, Roberto Alomar, Steve Garvey, John Kruk and a bunch of other dudes you’ve heard of once played for the Padres. But they never did this, either — in any month. (Stark - Jun 10, 2024 - The Athletic)

Luis flashes impressive leather at second base, on occasion. He is very steady defensively. His feet work well around the bag.

Arraez makes up for his fringe-average 50 grade defense with good soft hands. And he positions himself for success.

Luis has 45 speed on the 20-80 scale.

“He’s not really fast enough to steal a lot of bases,” Twins interim GM Rob Antony said, “but you don’t have to steal if you start on second base.”

2017: Arraez had his season end when he tore the ACL in his right knee when he awkwardly tripped over first base while beating out a double-play grounder.

April 5-19, 2018: Luis was on the DL.

Sept 28, 2019: Arraez was carted off the field at Kauffman Stadium following the seventh inning of the 4-3 win over the Royals after a collision. Initial tests revealed a sprained right ankle. The club did not offer a potential timeline for his return.

Though Arraez was clearly distraught as he was removed from the game, he was laughing with his teammates and seemed in generally good spirits in the clubhouse following the win, though he could not move around without the aid of crutches.

Oct 1, 2019:  MRIs revealed only a Grade 1 sprain—the least severe variety—of Arraez's right ankle, and the 22-year-old appears to be making progress in his recovery.

Sept 9-26, 2020: Luis was on the IL with left knee tendinitis.

Sept 22, 2020: Arraez sustained a mild left ankle sprain when he rolled the ankle during a rundown in an intrasquad game at the alternate training site in St. Paul, MN. His recovery will be delayed by several days, with no concrete timetable yet set for his ramp-up and eventual return to the team.

"We’re going to get him back on his feet in the next few days and just see how he responds," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "It’s hard to give an exact timeline on him at this moment. It doesn’t seem like a major ankle sprain, but he did roll his ankle."

May 4-10, 2021: Luis was on the IL with a concussion.

May 26-June 14, 2021:  Luis was on the IL with right shoulder strain.

July 21-31, 2021: Luis was on the IL with right knee strain. Arraez injured the leg on a play in left field during the fourth inning of the game against the White Sox when he slipped while attempting to catch an eventual José Abreu triple. An MRI revealed a minor strain of the soleus muscle in Arraez's right leg, Baldelli said.

"It’s when he’s going to be able to sprint and when he’s going to be able to be on his feet, change directions and run the way he’s going to need to run if we’re going to put him in a game," Baldelli said. "That’s going to tell us more."