A sizzling July surge has the San Francisco Giants’ Luis Arraez leading a high-stakes race for his fourth career batting title.
The San Francisco Giants know what they have to do with Luis Arraez at the trade deadline, but it's a tough move to make as he's done so much for the team here in 2026.
After a four-hit game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Arraez has now put himself in position to win his fourth batting title.
Arraez, who won a batting title each year from 2022 to 2024, is hitting .331. Obviously, that comes in no shortage of plate appearances. In 102 games played, he's recorded 408 at-bats.
The 29-year-old is going to be a hot commodity at the trade deadline, and it'll be interesting to see how the one-year rental finishes the 2026 campaign, as he's now recorded 13 hits in his last six games.
Arraez leads the National League in batting average
A move to the American League could make things extremely interesting, but for now, it's important to look at how tight of a race it is at the top of the NL.
Arraez leapfrogged Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez, who's hitting .329 in his 420 at-bats. With 12 more ABs than Arraez, that puts things into perspective, but it's still an extremely close race.
When looking at the rest of the league, there are only three other qualified hitters with a batting average above .300.
Shifting focus to the AL, Arraez would be stuck competing against the Houston Astros' superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez is working his way towards a triple crown and having Arraez jump leagues could prevent that from happening. Alvarez is currently hitting .321.
Overall though, the competition in the AL, as expected, is far less. There are only two players with an average over .300, and they both happen to be designated hitters.
Arraez on his time in San Francisco
The Giants settled on a one-year, $12 million deal with Arraez in late January. He sat on the market for quite some time before he eventually fell into the Giants' lap.
Had San Francisco been better this season, there's no doubt he would've earned a long-term extension with the team.
Arraez called his time with the Giants "amazing," according to MLB.com. He added, "They gave me a big opportunity to play second base. I really appreciate that. I want to say thanks to the organization for giving me the opportunity. I’m having fun there.”
Currently, he's riding a six-game hitting streak. Arraez is hitting .330 in the month of July, a number that is somehow a downgrade from the .354 he hit during June.
Other than his .211 batting average from a 19-at-bat sample size in March, the lowest he's hit in a full month was .323 in April.
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