Former Marlins batting champ is having a weird season

Peter Bendix caught a lot of criticism from Miami Marlins fans for a certain trade that he did earlier this season. I'm of course talking about the trade that sent Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. The trade shocked us as no one thought that Arraez's value was apparently seen as so low around the Major Leagues. This has now been a bizarre season for him.

Former Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez is having a weird season.

Luis Arraez was a star for the Miami Marlins last season. He batted .354/.393/.469, with just 10 home runs and 69 RBI in 147 games and 574 AB. He wasn't a great defender to say the least, but he did end up with an impressive 4.9 WAR. He wound up winning the NL Batting Title in the process as well.

It seemed preposterous to imagine him being traded as a good thing. It also seemed preposterous to imagine that the return would look so weak. The holes in Arraez's game apparently were big enough for other teams to not want to offer too much for him. What were his issues? The lack of power, meant that his contact had to remain elite for as long as possible. The lack of speed meant that he wasn't a typical elite contact bat.

Most elite contact hitters tend to be speedsters who can steal bases and play good defense. Arraez has the former but lacks the latter. This made him look one-dimensional and someone who doesn't have a real position. He isn't really a fit at second base and first basemen are typically power hitters. He's a DH with the San Diego Padres at this point when everyone's healthy.

Luis Arraez is not having a bad season based on his batting line. He's currently batting .315/.349/.387, with 4 home runs and 42 RBI in 135 games and 574 AB. He has an amazing 26 strikeouts. In fact he hasn't struck out since August 10! He said:

"Everybody hates strikeouts. But especially me."

He does however have a below average for a starter with 1.0 WAR for the season. Peter Bendix was right, Luis Arraez has probably reached his peak already and will just go downhill from here.