Luis Arraez (2B/3B/OF, MIN) - Week 21 Waiver Wire Pickups

August 19, 2019

Antonio Losada profiles Minnesota Twins rookie Luis Arraez as a potential waiver wire pickup or add target for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 21 of the 2019 MLB campaign.

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ANALYSIS: Many words have already been written about the young offensive explosion that is taking place this season. Rookie hitters are mashing, and perhaps one of the most overlooked is Twins infielder Luis Arraez. Minnesota called him up back in May and he has been a lock in the lineup since the All-Star break. It's no wonder why. Arraez has played 56 games in his rookie season while slashing .353/.421/.463 and posting a .379 wOBA and a 136 wRC+ (both sixth-best marks among qualified rookie hitters).

Although he lacks the power of other more heralded youngsters (he has hit three home runs in 216 PA), Arraez underlying numbers can't get much better. He is walking 10.6 percent of the times and has a strikeout rate of just 6.5%. Those two values make for a 1.64 (!) BB/K ratio. For comparison's sake, of players with at least 200 PA this season he leads the league above the likes of Alex Bregman (1.38 BB/K), Carlos Santana (1.15), and Mookie Betts (1.00). In August, Arraez has alternated between the sixth and second batting spots in the Twins' order and has 17 hits, one homer, 11 RBI and has scored 10 runs himself. He has logged multiple hits in six of his 14 games this month.

Arraez's current BABIP of .366 calls for a little regression over time, but his August has been so good. Even if he regresses a bit, his xwOBA is still high at .354, as is his xBA (.306). He has also raised his Hard Hit% from 29.3 in July to 34.0 this month and is hitting more fly balls (38.0% compared to 22.7% in July). All of this makes him a clear target to add in almost any league for the rest of the season if you have a hole to fill in your lineup.