Heading into the 2020 season, fans of both the Brewers and Twins should be excited about the sophomore seasons to come for both at one position: second base.
Keston Hiura and Luis Arraez had remarkably similar (and exciting) rookie seasons in 2019. The two youngsters (23 and 22, respectively) both amassed just over 300 at-bats last year, and both cracked the hallowed .300 mark in batting average. Both even tallied the exact same fWAR: 2.1. What should you expect from your stud second baseman in his sophomore campaign?
Hiura, of the Brewers, is the more powerful of the two. He managed 19 home runs last year in about a half-season. This was quite a jump from his previous pro-ball high (13 in 485 at-bats between high-A and AA in 2018), which can possibly be explained by the tennis balls they were using in the majors last year. However, Hiura does
absolutely scorch the ball. His hard-hit % and average exit velocity were among the best in the bigs last year, which led to his .368 OBP and .938 OPS. I would probably expect a little regression from Hiura this year (which still would make for an excellent second baseman), and he's not great with the glove, but all in all, Milwaukee looks like they have a building block at the keystone position.
On the other side of the border, we have Luis Arraez. Arraez, who quickly became a fan favorite with the Twins, hit very much in-line with his minor-league numbers last year. With a .399 OBP (.334 BA) but only 4 home runs, Arraez is as pure of a hitter as you will find in the MLB these days. He does not accomplish this by hitting the ball very hard (at all), but with excellent placement and with line drives (rather than fly balls, which are the trend these days). Arraez, like Hiura, is not great with the glove, but makes up for it at the plate. He has an incredible sense of the strike zone, gives great at-bats (watch the video below) and otherworldly bat control. I attended a Twins event earlier this year where he stated: "If they shift me, I say 'thank you'".
This bat control shows up in his top-tier xBA (expected batting average), which is very high despite his lower hard-hit % and exit velocity. Arraez is a throwback 2-hitter, and should be competing for batting titles in a Twins uniform for years to come.
In any case, I'd say second base is a position to be excited about no matter what side of the border you're on (and seriously, check out the Arraez at-bat below).
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