Miami Marlins hitter earns #1 ranking from MLB

MLB.com is finally taking notice of the red-hot Miami Marlins. They're especially taking notice of second baseman Luis Arraez, who deserves an extension and the National League MVP award. Arraez is having a season for the ages and he needs all of the recognition that he can possibly get. Let's take a look at the list from MLB.com and see how they rate Arraez, as well as who his competition is.

Miami Marlins superstar Luis Arraez is #1 on the MLB.com power rankings.

The article starts off by pointing out that Luis Arraez only has one home run for the season. It seems to be an issue for the voters. Regardless, Arraez moved up from the #8 ranking at the last poll to #1 this week! Arraez is hitting .403/.452/.495 and is leading the Majors in both batting average and OBP. He is also leading the Majors in hits (87) and OPS+ (161). The .417 BABIP is a bit worrying, as it implies that there may be some regression going forward. That said, Arraez is putting up a historic batting average and deserves the #1 spot.

Who is Luis Arraez's competition for the top spot in the power rankings? #2 is Atlanta Braves RF Ronald Acuna Jr., who is batting .331/.404/.555 so far this season. He falls from the top spot, making room for Arraez on top of the list. Acuna has a higher WAR than Arraez (3.3 to 3.0), but as impressive as Acuna has been, Arraez is the best pure hitter in the game at this point.

Third place went to Acuna's former teammate Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman. Freeman is batting .328/.400/.560, with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He is worth 2.7 WAR, putting him below both Arraez and Acuna. He went up from #4 during the last list. We can also look at WRC+ to see who the best hitter is. Arraez is at 162, Acuna is at 157 and Freeman is at 157 as well. Houston Astros DH Yordan Alvarez is in fourth place (down from #3). He has a 166 WRC+ with a .274/.386/.582 batting line.

Luis Arraez deserves a NL MVP award and is well-deserving #1 on the MLB hitter power rankings list.