One of the early stories both for the Miami Marlins and the rest of the league has been second baseman Luis Arraez. The Marlins are currently the shock of the NL East, sitting in second behind the Atlanta Braves well ahead of teams that were thought to be far better in the Mets and Phillies.
Miami is doing a lot of little things well but the biggest reason at the plate for the solid start is Arraez, who is the current batting leader with an insane .378 average and a .433 OBP.
The further you break down the start that Arraez is off to the more impressive it becomes. Arguably the most impressive stat that you can reference is the nine strikeouts that Arraez has on the season.
Arraez, acquired in an offseason trade, has been to the plate 148 times and has walked 14 times, gotten a hit 56 times, and struck out only nine times in those 144 plate appearances. This is production at a historic level that has changed the Miami Marlins offense and clearly has Arraez as one of the best hitters in the game right now.
So why isn’t Arraez getting the attention the Miami MVP so obviously deserves? The simple answer is that Arraez is boringly great. There isn’t any flash in his game. He simply goes out and finds ways to get on base.
Arraez isn’t a speed or power threat with only 11 of his 56 hits being for extra bases and with a lone stolen base on the season. Arraez is elite at one thing this season and that is finding the hole in the defense and finding ways to get on base.
It isn’t as easy to sell as Aaron Judge and his tape-measure homers or division rival Ronald Acuña’s flashy game, which could land him in the MVP conversation as well, but it is every bit as impressive. What Arraez has maintained through the first two months of the season is a large reason the Marlins are in the postseason conversation and has given them a rare bright spot in the lineup.
Considering the lineup around him and the degree of difficulty of what is being accomplished if this level of production continues, there is no question Luis Arraez belongs in the MVP conversation.