Luis Arraez is off to baseball's hottest start in 23 years
Luis Arraez has become a fan favorite in Miami just months after Minnesota traded him to the Marlins for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, who likewise is turning heads for the Twins.
On Tuesday, Arraez continued his torrid hitting to begin the season by becoming the first player in Marlins history to hit for the cycle. He doubled in the first inning, lined out to center in the third, tripled in the sixth, homered in the seventh and completed the cycle with a single in the eighth.
Through 12 games, Arraez is 22 for 41 for an eye-popping .537 batting average. According to ESPN, that's the highest average for any player in the first 12 games of a season since Frank Cattalanotto started the 2000 season hitting .600.
But unlike Arraez, Cattalanotto was injured after 10 games and missed a month before getting to his 11th and 12th games. He still had a .403 batting average on the Fourth of July that season before tailing off and finishing with a .291 average, though he only played in 103 games.
Last year with Minnesota, Arraez's first 12 games resulted in 11 hits in 36 at-bats for a .305 batting average. He went on to hit .316 and win the American League batting title.
Lopez, meanwhile, is second in the majors with 26 strikeouts through three starts. He struck out 10 in 7.2 innings Tuesday and at one point retired 23 batters in a row.
