Josh Lowe

Lowe knocked a base hit in the fourth inning, then later gave the Angels the lead with a go-ahead solo homer off Logan Gilbert in the sixth. He was later lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth against a left-handed reliever. The 28-year-old outfielder is up to 12 homers while slashing .210/.277/.367 across 312 plate appearances.

Lowe returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing the previous two contests with a neck issue. He looked just fine as he extended the Angels’ lead in the fifth inning with a leadoff home run off Braxton Ashcraft. It was the 11th home run of the season for the 28-year-old outfielder. He’s hitting .210/.273/.360 with 26 runs scored, 28 RBI, and seven steals across 295 plate appearances.

Lowe is back in right field and hitting seventh after missing two games with neck stiffness earlier this week.

Jose Siri takes over in left field with Lowe getting the night off. The 28-year-old corner outfielder has played almost exclusively against right-handed starters in his Angels debut, posting 10 homers and seven steals in 290 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Back in a nearly everyday role, Lowe is heating up just enough to get some deep league attention. He reached base three times in this game before being lifted for a pinch-hitter against Josh Hader in the ninth inning. He was also caught stealing, but we’re happy to see him attempting one, and has two homers since last Friday.

Lowe extended the Angels’ lead in the fourth inning with a solo homer off Cristian Javier. The home run was Lowe’s second in four games and tenth of the season while hitting .202/.259/.360 with 21 runs scored, 26 RBI, and four steals across 249 plate appearances.

Lowe was responsible for the only run of the game for the Angels on a solo shot off Sonny Gray. The 28-year-old has now homered seven times, but the former Tampa Bay outfielder has not been effective in his (relatively) new surroundings as seen in a slash of .217/.255/.382. Because of the lack of options — even with Mike Trout coming back soon — Lowe should still see a decent amount of playing time against right-handed pitching, so he will get a chance to see those poor numbers improve. It’s probably not a great idea to bet on it.

Lowe’s blast to right was the only extra-base hit either team collected today. He’s started four straight games since being recalled when Jose Siri went on the paternity list on Thursday, including both since Siri returned on Saturday. He’ll probably keep playing versus righties until Mike Trout returns, at which time the Angels can decide whether it’ll be worth playing him in a corner.

With Jose Siri going on the paternity list, the Angels will turn back to Lowe, who was hitting .299/.397/.617 in 26 games at Triple-A with nine home runs and six steals. He still had a 26 percent strikeout rate and 13.3 percent swinging strike rate, but he was making more contact in the zone and more contact overall by being more aggressive. Lowe will have some contact issues and is unlikely to ever re-produce the season he had in 2023, but he also has intriguing raw tools and warrants regular playing time on an Angels team that is going nowhere.

While surprising, Lowe has badly struggled at the plate throughout the season — slashing a woeful .184/.226/.320 — so having time to retool his swing and find himself again isn’t the worst idea. Wade Meckler was promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move on Friday.

That’s the good news. The bad is that he committed two errors in left field, and he couldn’t put a bunt down before striking out as the leadoff man in the bottom of the 10th. Lowe is hitting .333 over his past 10 games, so that’s a little something. He has five homers on the year but just a .182/.225/.322 line overall.

Lowe had a couple of hard-hit flyballs today, but as per usual this season, he got a little too far under both to hit them out. Lowe’s 24-degree launch angle this season is one of the highest marks in the league and far higher than his career average of 13 degrees. Maybe he’ll figure it out, but he’s been a big liability thus far.

Lowe is batting just .167, but he does have three homers and nine RBI through 62 plate appearances. His chances of pulling off a big rebound don’t seem great, given his poor exit velocity and strikeout numbers to date, but he might get to 20 homers and 20 steals without being much help elsewhere.

This is the first time that the Angels have faced a left-handed starter this season, and both Nolan Schanuel and Josh Lowe are on the bench. That will be something to monitor as the season goes on. Jeimer Candelario will start at first base and bat seventh, while Bryce Teodosio will play left field and bat ninth.

Lowe broke things open for the Angels in the second inning when he took Mike Burrows deep for a three-run shot, putting the Angels up 4-1. Lowe, who also doubled in this one, hit just 11 homers in 396 at-bats last season but does have one 20 homer season on his resumé. He could have some fantasy upside in deeper leagues, especially if he sees some base-stealing opportunities.

He also swiped his first base of the spring. Lowe is 5-for-17 with a homer and nine RBI in five games since returning from his mild oblique injury. One of the game’s best percentage basestealers, Lowe could offer some mixed-league value if he does enough running this year. He’ll be hitting in the bottom half of the Angels order, so there will be little reason for him to hold back.

It’s an encouraging sign to see Lowe driving the ball with authority after missing multiple weeks with an oblique issue earlier in camp. The 28-year-old corner outfielder will get a couple additional games under his belt in the coming days and should be a full-go for next week’s season opener.

Lowe returns to Los Angeles’ lineup for the first time since suffering a left oblique injury back in late February. The 28-year-old corner outfielder has expressed optimism about being ready for Opening Day, and his return to game action suggests he’s absolutely trending in that direction. He’s a late-round option for fantasy purposes given his checkered injury history.

Lowe has been sidelined for two weeks with some oblique discomfort, but he has been hitting in the cages already. The Angels plan to let him hit in minor league games this weekend so that he can “load up on at-bats in those games.” They are currently expecting him to be ready for Opening Day, and he could be a major value in redraft leagues at the moment since this oblique injury has caused his ADP to drop near pick 300.

Lowe was diagnosed with an oblique injury on the final day of February, but Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said the team was just being extra cautious with Lowe, given his previous oblique injuries. The 28-year-old should likely progress to hitting in the cage and then off live batting practice before returning to spring games. He seems on track for Opening Day.