Luis Arraez Shatters .400 Barrier: Inside the Rise of MLB’s Hottest Hitter in 2025

Nearly a month after arriving in San Diego, three-time batting champion Luis Arraez delivered his signature moment in a Padres uniform on Wednesday night, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs during an 8-6 comeback win over the Miami Marlins at Petco Park. The left-handed contact specialist lined a two-run single in the seventh inning to erase a 6-4 deficit, then struck again an inning later with a clean opposite-field knock that plated Xander Bogaerts and put San Diego in front for good. Arraez finished 3-for-5, lifting his batting average with the Padres to .378 and extending his on-base streak to 19 games. Manager Mike Shildt praised his new leadoff hitter’s “elite bat-to-ball skills and calm heartbeat,” qualities the club sought when it acquired Arraez from Miami on May 2. Since the trade, the 27-year-old has ignited an offense that had been scuffling near the bottom of the National League in on-base percentage. In 24 games as a Padre, Arraez owns a .446 OBP and has struck out just four times. Wednesday’s heroics come on the heels of another standout performance last week in Toronto, where Arraez recorded both a double and a triple—even as the Padres dropped a 14-0 decision—showcasing his ability to spray the ball to all fields regardless of the scoreboard. Advanced metrics back up the eye test: his 93% contact rate is best among qualified NL hitters, and Baseball Savant ranks him in the 99th percentile for whiff avoidance. The hot stretch is also fueling speculation about Arraez’s long-term future. He is scheduled to reach free agency this winter, and early industry chatter suggests San Diego is preparing an aggressive multiyear offer to keep him atop its lineup into his age-30 season. For now, the focus remains on the field. With the victory, the Padres improved to 28-24, drawing within a half-game of the Dodgers in the NL West. Arraez, meanwhile, continues to validate the front office’s bold swing—and give San Diego fans a new favorite chant: “¡Luis, Luis, Luis!”