Luis Arraez Deserves To Be an All-Star Starter

[Matthew Taylor]

Luis Arraez is an all-star. That much is undeniable. But with his electric bat on a first-place team, Luis Arraez should be an all-star starter.

Luis Arraez has been absolutely dominant at the plate all season for the Minnesota Twins. Over 54 games in the 2022 season, Arraez is leading the American League in batting average by nine points with an average of .354. An impressive number in any season, but especially in 2022 when the league average is .240. Further, Arraez is leading all of baseball in on-base percentage with a video game-like number of .436.

While he has historically been a second baseman, or even third base/left field, this season Arraez’s primary position has been at first base. Of his 43 non-DH games this season, 29 of them have come at first base, and his only eligibility in all-star voting is at first base. With that in mind, let’s look at his main competition for an all-star start.

Player	Batting Avg	OPS	wRC+	fWAR	Team Winning %
Ty France	.322	.893	165	2.3	.444
Jose Abreu	.260	.799	134	1.5	.492
Luis Arraez	.354	.863	156	1.4	.569
Vlad Guerrero Jr.	.259	.837	133	1.1	.597
Trey Mancini	.290	.797	131	1.2	.422

As you can see in the chart above, Ty France certainly looks to be the main statistical competitor to Luis Arraez to be an all-star starter. France has a higher OPS, wRC+ and has been worth more fWAR than Arraez in 2022. What Arraez has over France, though, is the allure that comes with being a batting champion. While batting average doesn’t have the same meaning as it used to, the batting average champion still has importance in this league, and the fact that Arraez is hitting .354 in a season where offense has been down, gives him an advantage. 

Additionally, Arraez has an advantage over France in that he is putting up his statistics for a first place team. While the all-star game is an event that recognizes individual play, when the decision is a close one, the nod should go to the player who is in a tightly-contested division race.

Not to mention, France has slowed down quite a bit after his hot start. Since the calendar turned to June, France has hit just .231 with a .764 OPS, while Arraez has hit .364 with a .917 OPS. Numbers in April count the same as numbers in June, but the arrow is pointing up for Arraez while it’s pointing down on France, which should count for something.

Finally, Arraez deserves a ton of credit for picking up a Minnesota Twins team that has been absolutely decimated by injuries all season. When Buxton, Correa, Kirilloff, and Larnach have missed games, Arraez has put the Twins team on his back and put up a 2-for-4 performance at the plate every single day. Arraez doesn’t get into slumps and puts the Twins in a position to put together rallies from the top of the lineup without skipping a beat.

The other main competitor to Luis Arraez to be named an all-star starter will be Vladmir Guerrero, Jr. While Vladdy has been having yet another stellar year for the Blue Jays, his numbers just aren’t up to the level of Minnesota’s left-hander. Arraez leads Guerrero in batting average, OPS, wRC+, and fWAR. Certainly, Vlad has the name recognition over Arraez, but Arraez has been a better player than Vlad since day one and hopefully, the voters recognize the numbers rather than voting for Vlad on name alone.

Luis Arraez has been a menace at the plate all season and he will surely be rewarded with his first all-star appearance. That’s not enough though, Luis Arraez should be an all-star starter.

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[roger]

Great article and you sold me, Matt.  Only problem is that the starters are chosen by the fans votes, aren’t they?  Agree he should be the starter, but will he even be on the team?

[Mark G]

3 minutes ago, roger said:

Great article and you sold me, Matt.  Only problem is that the starters are chosen by the fans votes, aren’t they?  Agree he should be the starter, but will he even be on the team?

Agreed.  What you deserve and what you get sometimes live on different planets.  So many people view him as a utility player, it is hard to garner enough votes from fans to be named starter.  But if he is not chosen as a reserve, and brought into the game for more than one pinch hitting AB, someone needs to go to baseball purgatory.  

[Whitey333]

I agree Arraez deserves to start the all star game.  However, as previously stated, it's unlikely for it to happen.  He's listed as a first baseman on ballot which is understandable but he is more of a utility man.  He sure deserves to play a lot in the game.  Where would the Twins be without him?

[Mydaughterhastwins]

All Star Absolutely.  He reminds me of the way the game used to be played and in my opinion still should be, however, 5th place hitter in our lineup, no.  Needs to always lead off instead of Buxton.  This is your father talking.

[old nurse]

Arraez leads in batting average right now. That does not make him a batting champion. The allure of a batting leader is different than a champion

[Trov]

2 hours ago, roger said:

Great article and you sold me, Matt.  Only problem is that the starters are chosen by the fans votes, aren’t they?  Agree he should be the starter, but will he even be on the team?

Yes the fans are the voter, and in theory it makes sense as the thought is the more votes for particular players will lead to more people wanting to watch the game to see the players they voted in.  However, we all remember a few years ago when there was a huge push to vote in all KC players, some would deserve it, but many did not.  

Personally I never watch it anymore.  I do not watch any all-star type game for any league though.  Most pitchers opt out so they can be ready, the fact that each team needs 1 player is dumb too.  Which generally ends up being the best pitcher on terrible teams, and half the time they do not even pitch.  

If you enjoy the game, good for you, I am not trying to convince anyone not to watch, for me it is not worth the 3 to 4 hours of time invested. Back when you would get to see superstars from the other league you never got to in regular season then it had some value to me.  

[ashbury]

He'll make the team if he keeps this up.  Assuming the voters don't recognize him, Crusty Dusty the all-star manager will.

[Nine of twelve]

The fact that he is unlikely to be voted in as a starter points up that the process by which players are chosen is IMHO highly flawed, to the point where I have no interest in the game at all. The purpose of the ASG in this era is to make money for MLB. That means enticing as many viewers as possible to turn on the TV, which means selecting players based on fan interest (hence each team having at least one representative). The game is no longer what it was originally conceived to be: a real baseball game played by the best players in the world with a normal-sized roster for each team. Further complicating this issue is that the best pitchers would have to be available for the game. Few teams are willing to alter their pitching sequences to accommodate that. That said, I have no doubt that Arraez will be recognized for his performance so far this season with a berth on the roster, and congratulations to him for that.

[ashbury]

37 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

The fact that he is unlikely to be voted in as a starter points up that the process by which players are chosen is IMHO highly flawed, to the point where I have no interest in the game at all. The purpose of the ASG in this era is to make money for MLB. That means enticing as many viewers as possible to turn on the TV, which means selecting players based on fan interest (hence each team having at least one representative). The game is no longer what it was originally conceived to be: a real baseball game played by the best players in the world with a normal-sized roster for each team. Further complicating this issue is that the best pitchers would have to be available for the game. Few teams are willing to alter their pitching sequences to accommodate that. That said, I have no doubt that Arraez will be recognized for his performance so far this season with a birth on the roster, and congratulations to him for that.

Oh, the corrupting influence of money!  I bet they gave away free beer at that first mid-summer classic in 1933, but then Scott Boras's grandad got involved and they started grubbing for the dough.

 

[jjswol]

I think he will be on the team but probably not a starter. The only other possibility is Buxton because he is pretty well known even though he has been up and down this year. But, his hot streaks are fun to watch.

[bean5302]

How dare anybody not vote a player I like as a starter on the ASG... even if that player is less valuable and on an unpopular team?

Arraez is borderline for being in the All Star Game with other worthy candidates at first base, and Arraez certainly does not deserve to start. Batting average as the reason Arraez should start over a player with 50% more value added? Jeez. It's not like France isn't batting .320...

[Mark G]

3 hours ago, old nurse said:

Arraez leads in batting average right now. That does not make him a batting champion. The allure of a batting leader is different than a champion

Not to me.    

[The Mad King]

Vladdy will certainly have a leg up in fan voting being in Toronto. Maybe Canadian votes should have an exchange rate!

[Nine of twelve]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

Oh, the corrupting influence of money!  I bet they gave away free beer at that first mid-summer classic in 1933, but then Scott Boras's grandad got involved and they started grubbing for the dough.

 

I think it's fine for MLB to do whatever they want to regarding the ASG. It's just that I choose to disregard the whole thing.

[Nine of twelve]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

 I bet they gave away free beer at that first mid-summer classic in 1933,

 

I bet they didn't. Prohibition didn't end until December of that year. You can probably get a first-hand report on that from Chief.

[Squirrel]

Just now, Nine of twelve said:

I bet they didn't. Prohibition didn't end until December of that year.

Someone's cellar was cranking them out and they were being sold under the bleachers  

[Shaitan]

Eh, All Star Game and Hall of Fame are for the kids.

Do I think Arraez deserves recognition for his year so far? Yes.

Do I really care if he's a starter or even on the team...not so much.

[Mark G]

29 minutes ago, Shaitan said:

Eh, All Star Game and Hall of Fame are for the kids.

Do I think Arraez deserves recognition for his year so far? Yes.

Do I really care if he's a starter or even on the team...not so much.

Um........the All Star Game IS that recognition.........isn't it?

[Shaitan]

15 hours ago, Mark G said:

Um........the All Star Game IS that recognition.........isn't it?

There's more than one way to be recognized.

[Mark G]

38 minutes ago, Shaitan said:

There's more than one way to be recognized.

Well, if you have one that is better than the All Star team, I will stand corrected, because I don't know of one.