Luis Arráez smiled when asked if he had heard the songs of “MVP” that rained from the stands of Target Field on Tuesday after the Venezuelan spliced a three-run home run off the Guardians. She shivered, Arráez said. He, too, hopes that kind of energy will lift him up in the All-Star voting on July 19. at Dodger Stadium as he aspires to go to the Midseason Classic for the first time.
“I want to be there,” Arraez said. “I wanna go. But there are a lot of people voting, and I don’t know if they want to vote for me. I hope so, because I’ve had a very good season. I think I have to be there.”
In the first voting results released by Major League Baseball on Tuesday, Arraez ranked fourth among first basemen, behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), Ty France (Mariners) and Anthony Rizzo (Yankees). The two players with the most votes in the first round, which ends June 30, will go on to a final round of fan votes that will determine the titleholders of both leagues.
Arráez feels that he has put forward arguments to be elected. He leads the major leagues in batting average (.355) and on-base percentage (.433) and is getting on base so often that, even though he doesn’t have the same power as some of his teammates, he leads the Twins in WAR, according to Baseball-Reference, at 2.5 bWAR, surpassing Byron Buxton’s 2.3 bWAR.
It doesn’t help Arraez that his defensive versatility has had him playing first base for much of the first half, as there is a lot of competition at that position. However, according to Baseball-Reference, Arraez ranks second in bWAR among American League first basemen, trailing only France (3.1 bWAR), and 14th among all AL hitters.
“Luis is doing tremendous things night after night,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We get used to seeing that. You don’t take it for granted, but if you get used to seeing it, because you know that he is capable of doing it. He is very capable of many things.”
The native of San Felipe has continued to evolve. He has gotten stronger and is using his lower body better on certain swings, unleashing power that he previously hadn’t shown as often. He’s already matched his career high of four home runs, including three homers in June.
The Venezuelan hopes that people are paying attention, and that it is enough to send him to Los Angeles. “It’s a goal for everyone,” Arráez said. “Everyone wants to be an All-Star. I want to be there, 100 percent. If not, I have to keep playing hard, working hard every day. I would be excited to be in LA.”
Do-Hyoung Park/MLB.com
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