On April 1, the MLB Network announced their top 100 players currently in Major League Baseball. At number 56 is former Terp, Brandon Lowe.
Lowe, who came to Maryland as a freshman in 2014, is currently a second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. As a sophomore, he was drafted in the third round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft.
In 2021, Lowe batted .247 and collected 99 RBIs in the process. He also drilled 39 home runs for the Rays a season ago, as they followed up their 2020 World Series birth with 100 wins and a second straight AL East crown. At just 27, Lowe has provided another source of offensive firepower for Tampa Bay as they compete in a talented division.
Lowe is signed through at least 2024 with Tampa Bay, garnering $24 million from a six-year deal that he signed back in 2019.
In the past two years, Tampa Bay has arguably been the best team in the AL East division, having won the division in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, they won the American League pennant but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who’s left-handed pitcher Adam Kolarek is also a former Terp.
Despite making it the World Series in 2020, the Rays are one of six MLB teams to have never won a World Series.
Should the team earn themselves their first World Series title this upcoming season or in the next few years, not only would Lowe likely play a big role, he would also become just the fifth Terp to win the championship.
Through his first 23 at bats of 2022, Lowe is batting .261 with four RBIs and a pair of home runs.
