San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez has become baseball’s best contact hitter. The three-time batting champion puts the ball in play. That approach has led to his major league-best .319 career batting average and his preposterously low 6.3 career strikeout percentage.

Arraez took his aversion to whiffing to a new level Thursday night. The seventh-year veteran became just the second player since 2000 to have two streaks of 100+ plate appearances without a strikeout, according to Francys Romero on X. Juan Pierre is the other player to accomplish the feat, with 100+ streaks in 2001 and 2004.

Arraez reached the 100 plate appearance mark against the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, per Romero. By the end of the game he had extended the streak to 103 straight appearances without a strikeout.

Luis Arraez streak demonstrates pure contact skills

May 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez (4) hits a double against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rogers Centre.
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Padres acquired Arraez in a trade with the Miami Marlins last May. He hit .318 in 117 games for San Diego, winning his third straight batting title. However, the three-time All-Star is something of a polarizing player as his batting average jumps off the stat sheet but his advanced metrics don’t necessarily credit him with much value added.

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Last season with the Marlins and Padres, Arraez slashed .314/.346/.392 with four home runs, 46 RBI, 83 runs scored and a National League-leading 200 hits in 150 games. But he accounted for just 1.0 bWAR and an OPS+ of 106, indicating he was only six percent better than the average hitter.

However, he did fare better in his two previous campaigns, winning the batting title in 2022 and 2023 while posting over 4.0 bWAR and a 128 OPS+ in both seasons. Additionally, Arraez indicated that he had played through a thumb injury in 2024, which could account for the dip in production.

There were rumors that San Diego would move the 28-year-old veteran over the offseason as the New York Mets expressed interest in a trade for the first baseman. But the Padres ultimately signed Arraez to a one-year, $14 million contract for the 2025 season, avoiding arbitration.

Arraez is slashing .283/.315/.397 so far this year. He has three home runs, 27 RBI and 33 runs scored with 0.0 bWAR and a 98 OPS+ in 67 games this season.