Luis Arraez had just arrived in the visitors' clubhouse in Kansas City on Saturday when he was approached by Twins teammate Jonathan Schoop.
"I don't feel good," said Schoop, who had stepped awkwardly on second base the night before and watched his right foot swell up overnight. "Be ready."
The 22-year-old Arraez filled in for Schoop at second base, going 1-for-3, scoring a run and drawing a walk. He was back in the lineup Sunday, putting together his first four-hit game to raise his average to .436.
Arraez is ready, has been ready and will be ready, to hit. His .331 batting average in the minors suggests so. And his major league career is off to a roaring start, with hits in 13 of his 15 games.
The native of Venezuela doesn't simply swing at pitches. He waves his bat like a wand, and the ball finds holes. And he can play some short and third base as well as second.
Because he doesn't hit for power, he's never been listed among the Twins' top prospects. But Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, in his first season in the organization, has been awfully impressed.
"He's a natural-born hitter," Baldelli said. "I don't think he's getting lucky. Obviously nobody's going to hit whatever he's hitting — .500, .400 — over the course of the season. But the things that he does will always play. He's been this type of hitter his entire career from the day he walked into pro ball … a lot of the things that he does in the box, you can't teach."
On May 21 in Los Angeles, Arraez dug in at the plate against the Angels. He anticipated when Trevor Cahill was going to throw a breaking ball and moved up in the batter's box in an attempt to hit the ball before it dipped out of the strike zone. It was an audacious move. Not only does a player rarely do that in today's game, but it's unheard of for a rookie.