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Brady Grove profiles Minnesota Twins rookie Luis Arraez as a potential waiver wire pickup or add target for fantasy baseball leagues in Week 15 of the 2019 MLB campaign.
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ANALYSIS: With recent injury issues befalling Eddie Rosario and Marwin Gonzalez, the surprise division-leading Minnesota Twins have had to call on rookie Luis Arraez to fill in some pre-All-Star AB, to some fantastic results. The 22-year old native of Venezuela has long profiled as a great hitter for average with remarkable plate discipline, while also having some limitations to his power game and the ability to steal bases in a not-unnoticeable amount. He earned the promotion to the majors by netting a .344/.409/.401 slash in 212 AB this year with Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Rochester, and has built an even more impressive line (on a solid foundation) over his brief MLB debut.
In 70 AB this season for the Twins, Arraez has clubbed a home run, stolen a single base (in two attempts), and hit for a well-rounded slash of .414/.481/.514. Honestly, for the game that Arraez tries to play, he is putting up some near-perfect peripherals at the plate. He is striking out at a meager 7.4% rate and his 12.3% walk rate only further demonstrates home laser-focused he has been in his approach. While a .438 BABIP should warrant caution when considering any player, it's hard to see him not continuously zipping pitches into the outfield when making 40% hard contact and just 13.8% soft contact on a 37.5% line drive rate. With numbers that portray a skill set similar to that of Giovanny Urshela, it is easy to see how Luis Arraez can be an asset of considerable value if receiving playing time for such an offensively elite club. Even with eventual returns probable to eat into his time on the field, he is well worth keeping a close eye on.
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