Everybody hates strikeouts, but no one hates them more than Luis Arráez -

Quiz question: What do Elly De La Cruz, Tyler Stephenson, Adolis Garcia, Mark Vientos, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Toglia, Matt Wallner and Pete Crow-Armstrong have in common?

The answer is that they have all struck out more times in September than Luis Arráez has during the entire season.

If we were to nick “The Numbers Games” by ESPN’s wonderful Sarah Langs, the number would be 121.

THE NUMBER 121

This is the number of games this season in which Luis Arráez hasn’t struck out. The Padres’ first baseman/designated hitter leads all baseball with a minute 4.3 K%, having only struck out 28 times in 656 plate appearances.

“Everybody hates strikeouts,” the Padres hitter explained. “Especially me.”

Arráez’s skill seems to come from his combativeness with two strikes. He shortens up his swing and won’t leave a pitch alone unless he is sure it is off target. With two strikes on the board, every borderline pitch is an invitation for him to swing. He racks up foul balls at an amazing rate. Incredibly, he has fouled off 33% of all pitches he’s seen with two strikes.

As a side note, Braves first baseman Matt Olson has fouled off the most pitches this season (623), and among players who have faced at least 2000 pitches, Arráez’s Padres teammate, Jackson Merrill, has the highest rate of fouling off pitches regardless of the count.

A little over a week ago, Arráez stretched his plate appearance streak without a strikeout to 141 – well over a month – which tied Tony Gwynn for the second-longest streak in Padres history. Only Gwynn’s 1995 run of 170 straight plate appearances was longer.

The honour of breaking the streak went to Houston Astros righty Spencer Arrighetti, who tempted Arráez to swing over a breaking ball for strike three.

Arráez will finish 2024 with the fewest strikeouts (minimum 500 plate appearances) for the third straight season.

2023: Luis Arraez 34
2022: Luis Arraez 43
2021: Kevin Newman 41

However, despite the minuscule strikeout rate, the 27-year-old seldom takes a walk. In fact, only Ceddanne Rafaela, Yainer Diaz and Ezequiel Tovar have a lower walk rate among qualified hitters this season.

	Plate appearances	Walks
Ceddanne Rafaela	564	14
Yanier Diaz	610	23
Ezequiel Tovar	673	23
Luis Arraez	656	24

Frequently, when a player has a similar walk rate to strikeout rate, you are looking at a tremendously valuable member of the lineup. Think Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, Mookie Betts, but in the case of Arráez, his lack of strikeouts does not add that much to the team.

In fact, according to Baseball Reference, Arráez is worth just 0.9 WAR this year.

It’s true that the Venezuelan offers versatility in playing first or second, albeit below average. He is ranked 34th in Outs About Average at both first base and second base.

So, is Luis Arráez any good? As a two-time batting champion, three-time All-Star, and Top-15 in MVP voting on two occasions, his unique skills are recognised in the game, but I can’t help but think that the Padres would fare better with a more productive player at DH/first base.

Featured Image Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Article by Gav Tramps. Gav quit Twitter X with frustration at the platform’s unwillingness to address its promotion of toxic content, but you can still find him on Instagram and Threads, and of course, via the website.

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