Josh Lowe Has Enjoyed Productive Season For Rays While ‘Being The Best Teammate That I Can’

Forbes Business SportsMoney Josh Lowe Has Enjoyed Productive Season For Rays While ‘Being The Best Teammate That I Can’ Tom Layberger Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Following Sep 28, 2023, 09:31pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: Josh Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays hits an RBI double in the first inning . .

. [+] against the Seattle Mariners at Tropicana Field on September 10, 2023 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) Getty Images What a difference a year has made for Josh Lowe.

Last September, the Tampa Bay Rays outfielder was finishing the season at Triple-A Durham. This year, he has had one big hit after another as the Rays kept their American League East title hopes alive through their 159 th game. Lowe homered Wednesday night in Boston to give him 20 and join Randy Arozarena (2022, 20/32) as the only players in team history to post 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.

Lowe’s 32 stolen bases are fifth in the American League and his 91. 4% success rate (32-for-35) is tops among the 12 AL players with at least 25 stolen bases. “It’s been really exciting,” he said, before a recent game at Tropicana Field against the Angels, of his first full season in the big leagues.

“I have known all along that I have been capable of doing this and the player that I see myself being, God willing, for the next many years to come. ” Lowe, whose Rays close the regular season in Toronto before hosting a wild card series next week, made the team out of spring training. That is something that did not happen last year despite the club clearing a path before opening day by dealing Austin Meadows to Detroit for Isaac Paredes.

Lowe was up and down three times and sent to Durham for good on July 31, finishing the MLB portion of his season with a . 221 average, two homers and 13 RBI in 52 games. The 25-year-old outfielder got off to a fantastic start this season by hitting .

342 in April. While he has battled through a couple of rough patches not uncommon in a 162-game schedule, Lowe heads into the final weekend of the regular season hitting . 327 (52-for-159) since the calendar flipped to August.

MORE FOR YOU Apple iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Reports: Insider Addresses Issue Ukraine’s Improvised Fighting Vehicle Is So Slow That A Soldier Can Walk Just As Fast Cannabis Overuse Linked To Heart Failure And Heart Attacks Study Finds In addition to his 20 homers and 32 stolen bases, Lowe has 30 doubles, has driven home 81 runs and has an OPS of . 829. He has also fielded his position very well, looking much more comfortable than last year while making 99 starts in right field, 13 in center and three in left.

Indeed, the Chesapeake, Va. native broke through very nicely this season. Instead of his personal accomplishments, Lowe prefers to talk about being a part of something much larger.

“There are a lot of players on this team who have been able to put together some real good seasons, whether it is their first full season in the big leagues or somebody like Jake Diekman, who is in his 12th season,” Lowe said, referring to the lefthanded reliever the Rays signed in May after he was released by the White Sox. “Everybody has played a special part on this team. The overall team success has been something that has been pretty incredible, especially with all the injuries we have had and things we have had to overcome.

It’s been awesome. ” It could be awesome for Rays fans to witness Lowe’s continued growth and production as the seasons move along. This one has been pretty darn good with how he has produced at the plate, on the bases and in the field.

There is something else that is more important to him than anything that can be found on a stat sheet next to his name. “The one thing I take the most pride in is being a good teammate,” he said. “I am a firm believer in taking care of your teammates, being there for other people.

If you are concerned about the team first, then everything else will take care of itself. My biggest thing is making sure that I am being the best teammate that I can be each day and help the team. ” Follow me on Twitter .

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