Luis Arráez is More Than Just a Contact Hitter

No I don’t, could he sell out in favorable counts and try and drive the ball yes.  What makes him a good hitter is waiting and having quick hands and wrist.  As long as he has enough power to drive balls into the gaps use entire field and keep left fielders from creeping way in he will be effective.  
there is value in a guy who can get on base with singles and doubles and drawing walks. I don’t want him to adjust the swing to be a mid teens hr hitter and give up what makes him good. 

I'd rather the HRs come organically and that Arraez stays true to his core nature and what we saw in 2019. The sky is the limit with Arraez, I like the comparison to Rod Carew that I heard Roy Smalley talk about last season. There is still room in today's homerun crazy game for a hitter like Arraez.

Pedroia is is a little guy with a big guy swing that sacrifices contact for power. Although the comparison to Carew is way premature, the similarities in style are real. Carew never wavered in his style or general approach. I hope Arraez follows the same approach. There may be occasional years of double digit home runs, but his value is in high average/high OBP and gap power. If he can improve on the defensive side he can provide value for years to come. The Carew comparison may fit here as well. His value would certainly have been higher as a longtime 2nd baseman rather than making an early shift to first. I realize that was expedited by a knee injury, however the knee injury may have been partly to blame on poor footwork on turning the double play.

Yes, he`s fine the way he is, he doesn`t have to be a home run hitter. Hopefully he`ll lead off & put a lot of pressure the pitchers to get the ball over the plate for the Bomba Squad to hit him in.

...there is value in a guy who can get on base with singles and doubles and drawing walks...

Twins spent $200million on a guy to do that in Minnesota for more than a decade. And for several of those years, it was worth it, and he was beloved by all (most (many.))

I love his patience at the plate and would be happy if he repeated last year for the next 10 years. I grew up watching Tony Gwyn and Wade Boggs be patient and wait for their pitch. Just like a pitcher doesn't have to throw 95 to be successful, a hitter doesn't have to hit homers to be successful and valuable

Sure, why not.

I'll pile on. Worse idea ever to change approach. He's a a high contact and a high BABiP guy that waits and uses his hands. And it's worked all through his professional career. Is it a formula for having elite value? No. But it's still good and it's a perfect fit for the current Twins lineup.

There is WAY too much emphasis on home runs.  Not everyone needs to be a power hitter.  You need guys that can consistently get on base to give you that chance to score.  Just relying on home run (or strike out) players won't get it done.  Yes, a home run will give you that "easy" run but the best only give you 40-ish home runs a year.  If you have a bunch of guys who get on base a third of the time you can manufacture a lot of runs.

Just let Luis be Luis.

Yeah, I don't know he needs to change his approach. If he can stay anywhere near league average slugging while getting on base nearly 37-40% of the time, he's going to be a wonderful player. I love having a guy who has the high average-high on base % combo, and as long as he doesn't fall through the floor on power and start posting slugging that's consistently under .400 he's going to be a wonderful asset.

Players who get more walks than Ks are really valuable, and I'd love Arraez to be one of those guys for the next 5 years. (Pedroia did it 4 times and came close a couple more) Home runs are wonderful, but this team doesn't have a shortage on power. I think it's really good to have a few table setters sprinkled in among the big boppers, especially ones who can collect hits like Arraez.

Power may come naturally and he seems to have a pretty good idea when to go after it.   Some how Mauer did also but I have never seen so many beautiful powerful swings that resulted in foul balls straight behind him.   I don't care though.   If we were down 1 with bases loaded in the late innings Arraez was the one I had the most faith in on the entire team.   If we were down 1 with no one on he would still be the one I most wanted at the plate because there was a good chance he got on.  I would take .320 with .400 OBP and a bunch of doubles and not care if he ever hit another home run in his life.

I think the point of this article got hijacked from the jump in the comments section. As I read it, there is no suggestion the Arraez should change his approach at the plate. Matthew laid out a cogent argument; basically a scenario where Arraez's current hitting style and ability to hit the sweet spot will produce more power in the future as his body matures. Pedroia hit eights home runs over his first full season in his age 23 season. Arraez hit four HRs at age 22 with 215 fewer plate appearances. Would it shock anyone to see him hit eight this coming season or 12 to 18 down the line while using the same general plate approach? IMO, Arraez is more than a contact hitter. Anyway, thank you Matt for laying the argument out so well. It hit home because I had a similar discussion with a friend Wednesday night.

Great body mechanics and eye on ball. Just like golf a smaller person with great muscle control can hit it just as far as a larger person. But when the ball is not in the butter zone they wont be flinging outsiders over the fence.

Let's just hope that he doesn't get caught up in the home run craziness like Rosario and that he keeps his nice swing. He could be a lifetime .300 hitter- a la Pete Rose and Rod Carew.