4 years agoTampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe has quietly been emerging as one of the best power hitters in the American League over the past two years. In 2019, he hit 17 home runs over just 82 games while registering a barrel-rate of 16.3%. Last year, he made additional strides as both a power hitter and as an overall hitter. He hit 14 home runs over 56 games in 2020 and raised his barrel-rate to 17.5%, which ranked amongst the top 2% of the league. One other area where Lowe greatly improved in 2020 was in the strikeout department. Lowe struck out a whopping 34.6% of the time in 2019, which was a massive red flag. Last year, he lowered that rate to 25.9%. He also greatly improved against left-handed pitchers. In 2019, the Rays were hesitant to use him against lefties as he hit .232 with 36 strikeouts over 66 at-bats. Last year, he actually hit lefties just as good as righties, slashing .300/.417/.720 with only 14 strikeouts in 50 at-bats against lefties. Lowe should have both second base and outfield eligibility in most fantasy leagues 2021. That versatility is an extremely nice commodity in all leagues, especially deeper ones. He's a solid target in the middle of the sixth round in most drafts. He should be able to top 30 home runs in 2021 if he's able to stay healthy while providing solid runs and RBI totals amidst the strong Rays lineup.--Andrew Ericksen - RotoBaller