Josh Lowe

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Joshua Edward Lowe

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Josh Lowe was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 1st round of the 2016 amateur draft, with the 13th overall pick, out of a high school in Georgia. His older brother, Nathaniel Lowe, who was in college at the time, was also selected by the Rays in that draft, in the 13th round.

Josh began his professional career that year as a third baseman, playing 28 games with the GCL Rays and 26 with the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian League. Between the two stops, he hit .249/.374/.405, with 25 runs and 26 RBIs. In 2017, he was moved to centerfield and spent the year with the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Midwest League. He hit .268/.326/.386 in 118 games, with 60 runs scored, 26 doubles and 22 stolen bases. In 2018, he moved up to the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League where he batted .238 in 105 games, with his other statistics very similar to the previous year's: 62 runs, 25 doubles and 18 stolen bases. His brother Nathaniel, who played under the name Nate at the time, was his teammate at the beginning of the year, although he was promoted to AA after a couple of months of superlative hitting.

By the time he made his major league debut in September of 2021, his brother was no longer on the team, having been traded to the Texas Rangers the previous off-season. In his first game on September 8th, he went 1 for 1 with a walk as the starting rightfielder, batting 9th against the Boston Red Sox, then was replaced by pinch-hitter Yandy Díaz in the 8th. That came after a very good season with the Durham Bulls of Triple-A East, where he batted .291/.381/.535 in 111 games with 28 doubles, 22 homers and 78 RBIs. Heading into the 2022 season, it was clear that he was ready to play in the majors, but the Rays had a logjam of outfielder. This hurdle was cleared just before opening day when the Rays traded Austin Meadows to the Detroit Tigers, opening a spot for Josh, who was expected to be part of a rotation of five players sharing the three outfield spots and DH, the others being Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips and Manuel Margot. He ended up playing 52 games that year, hitting just .221 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs. His OPS+ was 82, and after playing regularly in April, he was sent down to the minors on May 2nd as he was batting just .188 after 19 games. He returned to Tampa from mid-June to the end of July, but as his hitting improved only slightly, he finished the season back with Durham, where he hit .315 with 14 homers and 67 RBIs in 80 games.

He finally managed to translate his success in the minors into some big league production in 2023, when he played 135 games as the Rays' regular right fielder and batted .292 with 33 doubles, 20 homers and 83 RBIs. He also stole 32 bases in 35 attempts, placing fifth in the American League in the category. With an OPS+ of 128, it was a borderline All-Star season. He made his postseason debut that year, going 1 for 4 with a walk and a runs scored as Tampa was swept in two games against the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card Series. Josh was unable to repeat this success over the next two seasons, however. In 2024, he slipped to .241 in 106 games, with 10 homers and 34 RBIs, and then went even further down in 2025 when he batted just .220 in 108 games with 11 homers and 40 RBIs. His OPS+ was 98 the first year, and fell to 81 the second, definitely too low for a corner outfielder.

After the 2025 season, the Rays began to load up on outfielders over the off-season, creating a logjam, although it wasn't clear who they were targeting to be their regulars for the upcoming season, as no one, including Josh, was an undisputed regular. They gave the situation some clarity on January 15th when they swung a trade also involving the Cincinnati Reds, sending Lowe to the Los Angeles Angels while obtaining IF Gavin Lux and minor league P Chris Clark.

In his five seasons with Tampa, Josh was a teammate of Brandon Lowe. The two are unrelated, however, as Josh pronounces in las name to rhyme with "low", while Brandon's rhymes with "cow". Brandon was traded by the Rays during the same off-season as Josh.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 20-Home Runs Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading[edit]

  • Adam Berry: "5 reasons the Rays dealt Meadows, recalled Lowe", mlb.com, April 5, 2022. [1]
  • Adam Berry: "Lowe brothers reunite in WC amid prayers for mother's cancer battle", mlb.com, October 3, 2023. [2]
  • Martin Gallegos: "Angels acquire OF Josh Lowe from Rays in 3-team trade", mlb.com, January 15, 2026. [3]
  • Gerard Gilberto: "Lowe brothers making waves in Charlotte: Rays prospects' competitive boyhood grows to unbreakable bond", MiLB.com, MMay 30, 2018. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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