By Joe Frisaro
All Brandon Lowe does is win.
Going back to the days when he was a four-year starter at Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Va., Lowe was part of district championship teams. Today, the 26-year-old second baseman is one of the top players on the Tampa Bay Rays, who participated in the 2020 World Series.
A left-handed hitter with sneaky power, Lowe has put his name in the conversation of the best second basemen in the American League. He doesn’t receive the fanfare of DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees or Astros standout Jose Altuve, but Lowe is certainly appreciated by the Rays.
In many ways, he was Tampa Bay’s MVP in 2020, hitting .269 with a .554 slugging percentage, along with 14 home runs and 37 RBIs in the 60-game regular season.
An All-Star in 2019, Lowe has long been an under-the-radar caliber player, which in many ways makes him ideal to play for the Rays.
Tampa Bay has a knack for finding hidden talent and getting the most out of its players.
Lowe grew up playing ball in the part of Virginia that produced high first-round Draft picks Justin Upton, Melvin “B.J.” Upton and Michael Cuddyer.
As a prep star, Lowe didn’t carry the “can’t miss” tags of the Upton Brothers or Cuddyer. His high school games weren’t attended by dozens of pro scouts. Yet, Lowe certainly didn’t go unnoticed, either.
After all, he was named first team All-State, and signed with the University of Maryland.
But before Lowe could get his college career going, he immediately encountered some tough luck. Days before his freshman season, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg and missed the entire year.
More bad luck followed a few days before the 2015 MLB Draft. Lowe suffered a broken fibula. Still, the Rays selected the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder in the third round, and it didn’t take long for his talents to emerge, especially after he appeared in 107 Minor League games in 2016.
Lowe’s wife, Madison, played softball at the University of Maryland. Like her husband, Madison can showcase some power. She belted a home run in a softball game between the Rays and Minnesota Twins’ wives.
The 2017 season put Lowe on the prospect map. He was named MVP of the Florida State League after hitting .311 with nine homers and 46 RBIs in 90 games for the Charlotte Stone Crabs. He was named MVP of the Florida State, and he also was promoted to Double-A Montgomery that year.
Lowe’s MLB debut came on Aug. 4, 2018, and the Rays valued him so much they signed him to a six-year contract extension on March 20, 2019.
Lowe’s wife, Madison, played softball at the University of Maryland. Like her husband, Madison can showcase some power. She belted a home run in a softball game between the Rays and Minnesota Twins’ wives.