Padres' $14 Million All-Star Predicted to Lead NL in Key Stat Category in 2025

Gabe Smallson | Mar 25, 2025

Oct 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez (4) and outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) look on in the dugout before game five against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are looking for revenge in 2025.

After a 93-win regular season that ended entirely too early, it isn't just Friar faithful who are preparing for an exciting season in San Diego. One MLB insider predicted a key piece of the Padres to have another league-leading season in one key stat.

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Luis Arraez is known for getting a hit however he can, but after the Padres acquired him last May, he seems to have taken his game to a new level.

In his 117 games in San Diego, he had a .318 batting average, 159 hits, and 41 RBIs.

It should be no surprise who MLB.com has picked to secure the National League batting title in 2025.

The player who has won three consecutive batting titles (one in the American League and his last two in the NL) has been picked by insider Theo DeRosa to do it again in 2025.

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Especially on a team like the Padres, Arraez consistently shows his value to the ball club by getting on base. With a flurry of fellow superstars batting behind him like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Manny Machado, Arraez is the difference between a decisive run or a quiet inning in some cases.

As he will soon begin his first full season with the Padres, DeRosa says in his prediction: "There seems to be little reason not to expect Arraez to contend for the batting title once again."

Arraez has three consecutive batting titles, but manager Mike Shildt explained that the 2024 title may be the most impressive given the batting champion's torn ligament in his thumb he battled all season long.

“How he won a batting title without basically a thumb … was beyond impressive,” Shildt said. “To still mentally compete with that kind of physical ailment and compete well and still lead us into the playoffs, very, very impressive. … And now he looks healthy, and watch out.”

A fully healthy Arraez and a fourth consecutive batting title in his sights should be scary for the rest of the league as the Padres will do whatever they can to handle unfinished business.

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For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.