SlamWow: You’ll Say Lowe Every Time!
Brandon Lowe (TBR): 3-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.
Kevin Gausman didn’t have a great Thursday afternoon. Josh Lowe smacked his fifth pitch to left for a single. His next pitch was a fastball at the letter to Brandon Lowe, who promptly sent it soaring into the Rays’ bullpen for his sixth of the year. Long after Gausman exited with eight more hits, including two more dingers on his ledger, Lowe swatted his second longball of the day: a two-run, 429-foot shot to center in the ninth off righty reliever José Ureña.
The 30-year-old second baseman entered yesterday’s game against the Jays, hitting just .207 with what would be a career-worst .262 wOBA. Sure, his batting average isn’t going to be pretty, and his struggles against same-handed pitching are well-documented; sure enough, he’s hitting .088 against southpaws this year. A quick glance at his PLV profile reveals even more pain with his contact ability and power down 19 and 18 points, respectively, compared to last year. Still, the back of his baseball card reveals a .341 wOBA and 122 wRC+, that is to say, a player who can still deal damage in bunches, especially against righties.
Last year’s 21 home runs, .335 wOBA, and .241 batting average might not look terribly exciting, but as you can see above, he ended the year doing everything you want to see from a slugger, ie, adding power and making good swing decisions. The 39 home runs he hit in 2021 seem like a fever dream at this point. Still, don’t rule out a big summer from Lowe, especially with him taking hacks at George M. Steinbrenner Field. If there was ever a player who could take advantage of a short right field porch, it’s this man.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:
Matt McLain (CIN): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.
McLain clobbered a 91 mph sinker from Bryse Wilson in the sixth, putting the Reds ahead by a touchdown with his sixth tater of the year (406 feet, 106.6 EV). This feels like it should come with an asterisk, given it was the latter stages of a blowout against the Sox. Regardless, McLain will gladly take it as he limped into the afternoon, hitting .171 with a .279 wOBA across 35 games. The 25-year-old righty has demonstrated above-average power (103 via PLV), but whiffs have gotten the better of him thus far, his 77 contact ability via PLV being below the bottom tenth percentile. Still, he might be a decent buy-low considering his pedigree and the fact that he could still be dusting off the cobwebs after a year-long layoff with shoulder surgery. At the very least, he’s walking at a 13.1% clip with 10 steals.
Will Benson (CIN): 2-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB.
Benson clobbered a letter-high four-seamer from Bryse Wilson and sent it soaring just past Luis Robert Jr.’s glove and over the center field wall for his first dinger of the year (400 feet, 105.2 EV). The 26-year-old lefty has gone 5-for-14 since being promoted last Friday. Benson belted 14 home runs and swiped 16 bases last year in 128 games, but struck out at a 39.7% clip while hitting .187. He might also lose an avenue into the lineup with TJ Friedl aiming to return today (Friday).
Elly De La Cruz also hit his eighth (395 feet, 104.6 EV) in the Reds’ 7-1 win over the White Sox.
CJ Abrams (WSN): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.
Abrams teed off on a hanging slider from lefty reliever Dylan Lee, trimming the Nats’ deficit to 4-2 in the eighth with his sixth tater of the year (369 feet, 100.7 EV). He entered yesterday’s 5-2 loss to the Braves, hitting .311 with a .390 wOBA. The 25-year-old lefty might be taking his game to another level, considering he’s thus far demonstrated gains in power relative to last year (+5) and an even bigger boost in contact ability (+12) according to PLV. Giddy up.
Drake Baldwin (ATL): 3-4, RBI.
Baldwin not only got the start but also hit second for the first time, with Austin Riley hitting fifth. And the 24-year-old lefty delivered, hitting a single to center in his second at-bat before poking a 2-2 changeup from Trevor Williams to center for an RBI single in the the fifth. He added a third single in the seventh. He entered yesterday’s contest hitting .338 with a .413 wOBA across 77 PA. He also owns a 65.5% hard-hit rate and a 16.9% strikeout rate. I have a hunch we will be talking about him more often in the not-too-distant future, but for now, he’s locked in a timeshare with Sean Murphy.
Addison Barger (TOR): 2-4, HR, R, RBI.
Barger got the Jays on the board, smacking a letter-high splitter from Zack Littell 414 feet to right-center for his second of the season. The 25-year-old lefty has played ten games in the outfield, but has settled in lately as the Jays’ primary third baseman with Ernie Clement shifting to second to cover for the injured Andrés Giménez. Barger, who hit sixth yesterday, had demonstrated good power in the minors for a while; he swatted nine home runs and posted a .386 wOBA across 57 games with Triple-A Buffalo last year. He struggled during his 69-game stint with the Jays last season. However, he recently acknowledged having changed his swing mechanics. The results so far haven’t been mind-blowing, but he’s chopped his strikeout rate to 19.7%, seven ticks lower than last year. Let’s keep an eye on him.
Vladdy banged his fifth of the year (383 feet, 114.5 EV), and Bo Bichette went 3-for-4 with a double, raising his average to .290 as he looks to bounce back after a dreadful 2024.
Josh Lowe (TBR): 3-5, HR, 3 R, RBI.
Hey, he’s back! Unfettered by a balky oblique that also sent him to the IL last year, Josh Lowe hit leadoff and kickstarted the Rays’ afternoon with a single to left against Kevin Gausman before scoring on the other Lowe’s first homer of the game. After grounding out in his second at-bat, Lowe dropped the hammer on a Gausman heater and sent it soaring 407-feet to center for his first of the year (105.7 EV). Last year’s 31.8% strikeout rate dampened his breakout in 2023, and he’s unlikely to hit leadoff, with yesterday’s cameo resulting from an issue with Yandy Díaz’s passport. Still, he’s got good pop and has swiped 57 bases over the past two seasons, while being caught just four times.
José Caballero (TBR): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, SB.
Caballero hasn’t offered much with the stick; he entered yesterday’s game hitting .239 with a .306 wOBA. However, his 10th steal has him tied with six others, including Shohei Ohtani and the aforementioned Matt McLain, for 11th on baseball’s leaderboard. The 28-year-old righty has emerged as a sneaky play in deep leagues thanks to playing 18 games in the outfield, 14 games at third base, 12 games at shortstop, and two at second base. However, Josh Lowe’s return could pilfer Caballero’s playing time; he DH’d yesterday, but will shift to right field after Yandy Díaz returns Friday. Right now, it seems like Caballero might have to fend off Taylor Walls for at-bats at shortstop.
Jake Burger (TEX): 2-3, HR, R, RBI.
A matchup between Hunter Brown and Jacob deGrom didn’t seem like a recipe for runs. Sure enough, we were treated to a riveting duel. According to Sarah Langs, it was the first time since May 14th last year that both starting pitchers went eight or more innings while allowing one or fewer runs. In case you were wondering, those two were Ryan Weathers and Reese Olson. Who would’ve thought? Anyways, Jake Burger broke the tie, going oppo on a cutter from Brown (393 feet, 108.1 EV) in the sixth for his fourth dinger of the year. Burger’s questionable swing decisions and light tower power make him the quintessential roller coaster. The big righty is hitting just .214, but don’t look now; he’s riding a four-game hit streak since being promoted.
Royce Lewis (MIN): 2-4, R, RBI.
Lewis started slowly, going hitless in his first 13 at-bats since returning from the IL with a strained hamstring. However, he’s perhaps starting to percolate with multi-hit efforts in two of his last three games. In the seventh inning, he banged a groundball through the right side, plating Willi Castro from second; the RBI single helped the Twins capture their 11th consecutive win. The 25-year-old third baseman remains enigmatic, having terrific talent while being besieged by injuries. He hit .233 last year with a .317 wOBA and 16 home runs while being limited to 82 games with adductor and quad strains.
Byron Buxton hit his tenth of the year, but got sent to concussion protocol after a collision with Carlos Correa. Let’s hope they’re ok.
Max Muncy (LAD): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Believe it or not, this game was tied at one point. With one down in the bottom of the first, Muncy unloaded on a 2-0 changeup from Osvaldo Bido for his third of the year, a two-run shot to right (408 feet, 108.7 EV) that put the Dodgers ahead 3-1 before, you know, Ohtani stole the show with a pair of longballs, including a grand slam. Strikeouts have plagued Muncy thus far, and he entered the night hitting a career-low .191; he hit .192 back in 2020. But he’s now gone yard two nights in a row. At the very least, he’s maintained a good eye, as demonstrated by his 87th percentile chase rate.
Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)
