With little to no media attention with the Tampa Bay Rays, Brandon Lowe is quietly emerging as a dark horse candidate to win the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year.
With big named prospects like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Michael Chavis making their debuts in 2019, infielder Brandon Lowe has quietly snuck through the radar of mainstream media while playing with the Tampa Bay Rays.
While his stats and everyday play may not adhere to the big names like mentioned earlier, Lowe is producing every time he is in the lineup. He doesn’t make the big, flashy hits or snags in the field like Vladdy has, but he makes the reliable and clutch hits that help his team win ball games.
He currently leads all eligible AL Rookies in home runs (11), at-bats (174), hits (48), and RBI’s (30) and is in the upper percentile when it comes to games played.
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Some may argue that he leads most of these categories because he has played in more games than others like Chavis or Guerrero Jr.
With a slash line of .276/.332/.534, it’s hard to ignore the fact that when he is in the Rays lineup, he is contributing, and that his RBI’s and hits are no fluke when he steps in the batter’s box.
Since Brandon Lowe does play for the Rays, you will hardly find his name in any mainstream media source. The only source that really mentions Lowe is CBSsports.com.
Lowe was also excluded from multiple ROY predictions articles (both before and after the season started). Credit to Kyle Glaser of Baseball America for putting Lowe at the top of his list, as I also agree that Lowe is the clear front runner for the honour after two months into the season.
What separates Lowe from his AL Rookie counterparts is that he has been entrusted with more reps and more playing time, but is still producing both at the plate and in the field.
While playing 2B and some outfield, he has only committed 1 error while contributing to 64 putouts, 98 assists, and 29 double plays to go along with his slash line.
Not only is Lowe crushing the batting department, he is also a reliable glove at a difficult position in 2B.
To go with his rookie campaign, Lowe also received the Rookie of the Month award for April, which should make fans and media aware that he is a steady contender for the honour, whether or not he receives appropriate media attention.
I understand that the season is basically only 1/3 of the way through, but if I were a betting man, I would save some pocket money for Brandon Lowe winning ROY for the American League.
The ‘not so dark horse’ could surprise everyone and beat out the Ice Horse for ROY.