‘He’s hitting it everywhere’: Luis Arraez chasing .400 … all over the ballpark
-
Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
An unusual thing happened Monday night in Seattle: Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez failed to get a hit.
It was an occurrence that hadn’t happened in more than a week. In fact, it was one of just 11 contests all year in which the 26-year-old hasn’t dropped one into the outfield grass, which helps explain why he heads to the midpoint of the season in the rarest of territories: with a batting average hovering near .400.
It’s been 82 years since Ted Williams was the last hitter to accomplish the feat for an entire season and 20 years since any player hit better than .400 through his team’s first 64 games (Chipper Jones did it in 2008).
“This is big for me,” Arraez said last weekend after a four-hit series against the Chicago White Sox. “I’m hitting .400 right now. It’s June. I want to continue to play like that and help my team because we’re playing good baseball right now.
“It’s fun because everyone is talking about me.”
They’re talking about him because from the time Arraez went 2-for-4 on Opening Day he’s been a hit machine. His batting average didn’t drop below .400 until early May and has never fallen below .371 this season. Though batting average is not the all-encompassing mark of success, it perhaps once was — it has taken a backseat to other more revealing statistics about a hitter — and that hasn’t stopped anyone in the Marlins’ dugout from celebrating it.
“Batting average still matters to the players,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “When I went to the field, I wanted a 3 in front of my name. That was special when I saw that. OPS is trendy but the players know exactly what their batting average is. They also know what Luis is hitting.”
Said Marlins infielder Jon Berti: “Every day, it’s more hits, more hits, more hits. The other day when we played, it dropped below, then it went above, then below then above again. It’s been crazy. And fun.”
After a hitless game on June 2, his teammates were all over him.
“We’re in hitters’ meetings and … we’ll say things like, ‘Only one hit today? Are you OK?'” catcher Jacob Stallings said. “He went hitless the other day and [shortstop] Joey Wendle said to him, ‘So are you going to get five hits today?’ He said no, probably four. He ended up getting five.”
The five hits on June 3 were followed by nine more over the following four games, pushing his average over .400 for the first time since early May. A 1-for-5 day against the White Sox last weekend dropped him just below the magic mark again, but that’s not likely to keep the attention off Arraez for long. He knows what .400 means.
“The social media is the worst,” Arraez said with a smile. “They send me a lot of texts and DMs. I don’t want to see my numbers, but they put it there every time, so that’s why I know.
“I just try to put the ball in play every time. I practice that during batting practice, then I take that to the game.”
Arraez won the American League batting title in 2022, hitting .316 with the Minnesota Twins before an offseason trade to the Marlins. In some ways, his batting average success should come as no surprise. With this year’s shift restrictions in place, batting averages are up across the league. In April, the league’s overall batting average was up by as many as 16 points higher than the first month of the 2022 season.
But Arraez’s .400 flirtation isn’t just about the shift rule change. He works at it. A lot. Batting practice begins way earlier — and is way different — than perhaps anyone else in the league.
“He does a routine at the hotel before he comes to the field,” Stallings said. “He always travels with his bat, doing dry swings in his room. His attention to detail is unbelievable.”
Said Schumaker: “The kid literally wakes up and hits. No, he literally does. Then he gets to the field and hits. He’s just so different than the guys that slug and have high batting averages. He’s literally looking at the defense and picking a hole where he’s trying to hit it. I’ve never seen that.”
Arraez’s bat-to-ball skills are becoming the talk of baseball and the secret to his success is in many ways simple: being able to place the ball where he wants to. His spray chart looks like a Jackson Pollock painting.
“During BP, if I’m standing at third or shortstop,” Berti said, “he’ll look at me for a round and he’ll hit me 4-5 line drives, 4-5 ground balls, right where I’m standing. Even though it’s BP, it’s still impressive.”
That’s where another side effect of the banned shift could come into play: More hard hit balls should get through the infield, and infielders being required to start on the dirt could increase bloop hits, if they’re placed as well as Arraez is able to place them. On balls hit between 150 and 300 feet, he is hitting .657.
What seems impossible for other players is the norm for Arraez.
“There’s no weakness,” White Sox outfielder Gavin Sheets said. “There’s no certain way to pitch him. There’s no certain way to play defense against him because he’s hitting it everywhere. He’s like a softball player. It’s pretty cool to watch. It’s something special right now.”
Most unusual might be his abnormally low hard-hit rate. Usually, a high hard-hit rate correlates with more hits. And yet 98% of qualified MLB hitters hit the ball harder than Arraez. According to ESPN Stats & Information, only seven players since 2015 hit .300 or better with a hard-hit rate under 25%. Arraez — whose rate is 23% — is sitting at .391 after Monday’s 0-for-4 against the Mariners.
White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger didn’t pitch against the Marlins this weekend but faced Arraez many times while both were in the AL Central. He knows firsthand how difficult it is to get Arraez out.
“He doesn’t swing and miss,” Clevinger said. “So you’re hoping he mishits the ball. He’s a pest. It’s never living in one spot. With him, you throw out the scouting report. Just try to trick him with what I’m throwing and in what part of the zone.”
Though the importance of batting average might have changed since Williams’ famous chase in 1941, Marlins general manager Kim Ng still believes Arraez’s play speaks for itself.
“It’s never good to look at just one statistic,” she said. “We’ve pulled back the layers on that. [But] as far as hitting .400 — over the hood, under the hood, it’s still pretty impressive.”
If Arraez stays in the vicinity of that seemingly unattainable threshold as the year progresses, the chase will get only more attention. Arraez knows it. So do his teammates. There’s a long way to go in the season, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming of history.
“If I’m healthy, I can do a lot of good things,” Arraez said, with another smile. “Let’s see what happens.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike