Twins infielder Luis Arraez, MLB All-Star, finds himself living a dream

LOS ANGELES – Craziest thing happened to Luis Arraez sometime during the night. His entire career changed.

"When I am sleeping, I want to be an All-Star," the buoyant Twins first baseman said at Dodger Stadium, surrounded by his new peers. "And I wake up, and I'm an All-Star now. It's amazing! Dreams come true!"

Well, more went into it than just some memorable bedrest. Arraez worked hard to take his game to this level, particularly when he devoted himself to a grueling workout regimen last winter. Now he's spraying line drives all over MLB parks, with the highest batting average in baseball (.338) and the highest on-base percentage (.411) in the American League.

Even his own manager doesn't know how to defend the hitter that Arraez has become.

"Well, you have to defend the whole field, so you're going to have to spread [your fielders] out, and you're going to have to hope your pitcher makes good pitches," Rocco Baldelli said. "And that's going to be the end of it. You don't know where he's going to hit the ball."

Or where that skill will take him. Arraez said he hopes to have an impact on Tuesday's game — "get a hit and keep the ball," said the star-struck Arraez — in order to raise his profile around the game. He's well known in Venezuela, Arraez said, and will wear cleats honoring his home country during Tuesday's game, but "I'm the [batting] leader right now, but nobody knows me."

His fellow All-Stars scoff at that notion. "He got voted onto the team, so people know about him," pointed out fellow Venezuelan William Contreras of the Marlins.

Said Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr.: "The way he sprays the ball around, the way he always makes contact, he deserves to be here. He's a great hitter, a great guy."

But Arraez believes his seasons spent moving around the diamond without an everyday position makes him underrated. "I think yes. If you ask my teammates, I think yes," Arraez said. "This is my best year. I worked hard in the offseason. I've had a good year. I just need to continue to do that and then enjoy the game."

Byron Buxton will bat sixth for the American League and play center field, AL manager Dusty Baker said Monday in revealing his lineup. And he will have a challenge in that lineup: hitting Clayton Kershaw, named the NL starting pitcher (vs. AL starter Shane McClanahan of the Rays).

Buxton has faced Kershaw only once, in the Dodgers lefthander's seven innings of perfection at Target Field in April. Buxton struck out all three times he faced Kershaw, while Arraez struck out twice and popped up once. Then again, if recent habits continue, Kershaw — who again threw seven perfect innings Friday night vs. the Angels — will only pitch one inning and may not face Buxton.