Brandon Lowe receives rare, accelerated called up to Rays

He won’t be in the lineup Saturday, but expect him to debut soon

ST. PETERSBURG — Rays helium prospect Brandon Lowe has been called up to the majors after Daniel Robertson was officially placed on the disabled list Saturday afternoon.

Lowe has been hitting the snot off the ball this season, first slashing .291/.400/.508 in 54 Double-A games, before improving on those numbers with a .304/.380/.613 slash line in 46 Triple-A games. He was a combined 22 home runs in those 100 games.

When asked if there were any particular changes made to his swing to achieve his meteoric rise, Lowe remarked “the change was I wasn’t playing in the Florida State league!” while also giving credit to a focus on hand-eye-coordination and trusting the swing he already had.

Lowe is a perfect replacement for Robertson, as he has experience at second base, as well as outfield, two spots the Rays could use coverage at with Robertson and Tommy Pham hitting the DL on back-to-back days.

As he trotted onto the field time, Lowe brought three gloves with him before taking flyballs in left field to get acclimated to Tropicana’s dome.

Lowe has seen his prospect profile grow and grow over the past 12 months, going from an unranked prospect (per MLB.com) before 2017 to no. 15 in the Rays system 2018 — their biggest gainer.

Lowe will not be in the starting lineup Saturday, as the Rays face Carlos Rodon, a left-handed pitcher, but he will be starting in left field on Sunday against James Shields.