Brandon Lowe (2B, TB) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~pick 170

CURRENT ADP: ~196 overall

ANALYSIS:

Brandon Lowe is a prime breakout candidate at second base heading into 2020 after his injury-riddled 2019 campaign limited him to just 296 at-bats throughout 82 games. He is another second baseman that can provide power, the ability to get on base, and a little bit of speed. He finished 2019 with a slash line of .270, .336/.514 with 17 HR, 51 RBI, 42 R, 5 SB, and 25 BB. Again, this was all done in just 296 at-bats.

His power profile was very strong in 2019 and came on the heels of a 22 home run output between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham over 100 games in 2018. He put up a ridiculous 16.3% barrel rate to go along with a 91.1 mph exit velocity, .507 xSLG, and 46.2% hard-hit rate. Each of these was above the league average, but he has also shown the ability to hit for average throughout his young career. In the minors, he was a .279 hitter over 327 games. He continued to show this profile last season as he hit .270 over his 82 games.

Lowe is projected to hit at the top of the Rays lineup vs. righties in 2020, which will give him plenty of opportunities to score runs. He is also projected to hit sixth vs. lefties, so he can certainly knock runs in from this spot if he can improve vs. lefties, which one could expect as he gets more accustomed to facing them.

Overall, Lowe has solid potential heading into 2020 as long as he can stay healthy. He currently has an ADP of 196 which is a great spot to grab him and take a shot at his potential breakout. He really should be going around 170, above Garrett Hampson.