Rangers Quick Hits: Nathaniel Lowe's Hot Start
The Texas Rangers have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, and are now 4-9. With the weekend now here, you may have a busy weekend like I do. So here are a couple quick hits to put the 4-9 record into perspective.
It's Still Really Early
Prior to these two wins, the Rangers were dead last Major League Baseball in team ERA (6.09). Despite Taylor Hearn's outing in Thursday's win over Seattle, the Rangers have moved to 29th, lowering the mark by 41 points to to 5.68 ERA.
Now, this is still not ideal. However, two good outings from the bullpen and Glenn Otto's brilliant start on Friday had that large of an impact on the season total. There is still plenty of time to right the ship. And it was refreshing to see a pitcher like Otto, who did not win a roster spot in spring training, come in and put up the best outing for a Rangers starter thus far.
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Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Get Lowe
Nathaniel Lowe has been the Rangers' best hitter through the first 13 games of the season. He's appeared in all games thus far, starting in 12 of them. Meanwhile, Lowe is slashing .412/.455/.529/.984 with one home run and nine RBI. His batting average leads the American League and his 0.9 BWAR thus far is tied for fifth. His total bWAR in 2021 was 2.4.
Now, this type of production is not sustainable. However, Lowe has done a brilliant job of taking what the opposing pitcher gives him. He's perfectly fine with slapping the ball into the outfield for a single. Also, as he displayed Friday, he can still do damage when he gets his pitch.
It will be interesting to see how Lowe handles the league's adjustment to him. His ground-ball rate is slightly higher than it was last season, which is not a good sign. Lowe will need to hit the ball in the air more often if he is to really hit that next level.
The good thing is, Lowe's whiff percentage is in better shape thus far. He ranked in the 60th percentile last year while this year he is in the 70th. And if Lowe continues to hit balls in the strike zone, he'll get walked more. Remember, his plate discipline was on full display last season as he led the team with 80 walks.
There are still 149 games left. There's a long way to go. But Lowe is off to a better start this year than he was a year ago.
