Texas Rangers: Nathaniel Lowe may be the most underrated MLB player

When you think about baseball superstars, you probably don’t think about Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. However, after a breakout year in 2022, many fans believe he is the real deal.

Nathaniel Lowe’s journey to MLB superstar with the Texas Rangers

Lowe, 27, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Mississippi State in the 13th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft. The 6-foot-4 infielder was hitting professional pitchers in no time in the minor leagues. After his arrival in short-season Single-A, Lowe finished the season with a .300 batting average, four long balls and 40 runs batted in. The next season, Lowe continued to produce. In 2018, however, Lowe had his breakout year. Starting the season in High-A, the 22-year-old was in Triple-A by season’s end. In both High-A and Double-A, Lowe hit for an OPS north of 1.000 and knocked a career-high 13 home runs along 51 games in Double-A.

In 2019, Baseball America ranked the first baseman as the 67th-best prospect in baseball after ranking 90th in the prior list. He was also ranked as the eighth-best prospect in a loaded Rays farm system. During the 2019 season, Lowe proved worthy of the jump after slashing .300/.444/.543 along with three home runs before being promoted to the big leagues in April.

In 76 plate appearances for the Tampa Bay Rays, Lowe slashed .264/.357/.415 and 2020 was about the same. While Lowe was not bad, he wasn’t looking like the player that the Rays expected. However, he had just seen 71 games between the two seasons and Rays fans hoped that they would see the true potential of the 25-year-old in 2021.

Unfortunately for those fans, Lowe was traded to the Texas Rangers in December of 2020 following two mediocre seasons in Tampa. The Rangers thought they had their guy, and they did.

The Rangers first base position in 2020 was a nightmare it seemed. Between Ronald Guzman, Todd Frazier, and a short time of Derek Dietrich, the three hit for a combined OPS of just .691. The position was ranked in the bottom third in baseball.

Newly hired Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young had a choice; he could ride with 25-year-old Ronald Guzman hoping he would find his stride in 2021 or go another way. He chose the latter and traded for Lowe.

In his first year with Texas, Lowe had a solid year. Compiling a .264 batting average, a .771 OPS and 18 home runs, a career-high in his professional career, in 157 games.

This excited Rangers fans as they have not had any great first basemen since Prince Fielder in 2016. Maybe they had something here.

Fast forward to April 2022, the MLB season is beginning, Lowe is in great shape and ready to go. The first baseman played 157 out of 162 games and had a full breakout year. Lowe mashed 27 home runs, hit above .300, recorded an OPS of .851 and collected a stellar wRC+ of 143. His wRC+ was good for third-best among qualified first basemen tied with Pete Alonso of the New York Mets. His batting average was the fifth-best. The young corner infielder’s elite performance earned him a Silver Slugger award.

The Texas Rangers may have one of the best first basemen in the game. Going into the 2023 campaign, it would not be too crazy to predict Lowe performing good enough to win another big award and possibly an MVP.