Nathaniel Lowe

Lowe sat in Game 1, but even with left-hander Anthony Kay on the mound, the Guardians will turn to him to man first base. Lowe entered Game 1 after left-hander Hagen Smith was removed from the game and went 1-for-2 with a walk. His insertion in the lineup will move Angel Martinez to sixth in the order.

Lowe’s homer was a two-run shot off Seth Lugo in the bottom of the first. He has hit fourth or fifth in every game against a right-hander since coming over from the Reds at this summer’s trade deadline. Kyle Manzardo has been at Triple-A ever since, suggesting there’s no threat to Lowe’s strong-side platoon role down the stretch.

Lowe was an offensive engine for the Guardians here. He got them on the board with a solo home run in the second, drove home another run with a single in the third, and scampered home to score on a wild pitch as they tried to mount a comeback in the eighth. In eight games since being acquired at the trade deadline, he’s gone 8-for-27 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Lowe is off to a .333/.385/.667 start in three games as a Guardian and has knocked in five runs. In this one, he took Nolan McLean out on a line drive to right for his 13th homer of the season. It’s likely he’ll remain a strong side platoon bat for the Guardians but a good first impression never hurts.

Lowe represents a strong depth addition for Cleveland at DH as they attempt to push some chips towards the metaphorical center of the table and make another playoff push. The 31-year-old has played mostly against right-handed starters, hitting .266/.341/.480 with 12 homers in 276 plate appearances for the Reds this season.

It’s another buzzer-beater for Cleveland as they’re adding Lowe to their first base and DH mix as a platoon option against right-handed starters. The 31-year-old has hit .266/.341/.480 with 12 homers in 276 plate appearances for the Reds this season.

Another little late boost for Lowe’s trade value. He’s hit .340/.365/.540 in 13 games to start the second half. With Luis García Jr. now off the table, teams still looking for a left-handed first base/DH type (Arizona? Cleveland?) could turn here.

Lowe strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning and the score knotted at two runs apiece. He ended up hitting a slow ground ball to shortstop that resulted in an out at second base, but Lowe beat the relay throw to first to plate the winning run. He finished the day 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and is now hitting .255/.332/.472 with 12 homers and 34 RBI in 262 plate appearances on the season.

Sal Stewart singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th before Lowe broke it open, giving the Reds a 5-2 lead. The Cardinals then scored just the automatic runner in the bottom of the inning. Incredibly enough, it’s Lowe’s very first three-hit game of the year. He’s been pretty good in batting .258/.333/.475 in 249 plate appearances, and he’d seem to be a particularly likely candidate to be moved before next week’s trade deadline.

Lowe takes a seat with Spencer Steer at the cold corner and rookie Sal Stewart at DH to face Mets starter Tobias Myers. The 30-year-old first baseman has cooled off recently, hitting .222 (6-for-27) with zero extra-base hits in 12 games since the start of June.

No surprise with crafty southpaw Martín Pérez toeing the rubber for Atlanta. Lowe will open this contest on the bench with Sal Stewart getting a turn at DH and Spencer Steer at first base. The 30-year-old veteran has been on a tear with three homers in his five games. He’s gone deep nine times over his last 30 games while hitting .293 (29-for-99) during that span. There are times where Cincinnati will keep him on the bench, mostly against left-handed starters, but Lowe has shown enough over-the-fence pop that he needs to be rostered in deeper fantasy leagues as a viable corner infield option.

Lowe came into the day with a .213/.275/.319 line in 51 plate appearances this month, so he needs to heat up again with Eugenio Suárez nearing a return. More games like this will help keep him in the lineup, probably at Ke’Bryan Hayes’ expense.

Despite being one of the better hitters on the Reds of late, Lowe has sat in each of the last two games. We know the Reds’ offense is struggling to find a rhythm right now, but Lowe deserves to remain in the batting order for the time being. He can be put right back into your fantasy lineups.

Lowe has been swinging a hot bat for the Reds, slashing .273/.333/.636 with six homers and 11 RBI over 60 plate appearances in his last 16 games. He’ll get a breather in this one though. Sal Stewart will serve as the team’s designated hitter while Spencer Steer covers first base and Ke’Bryan Hayes draws a start at the hot corner.

Lowe’s homer was his fifth of the year, a second-inning solo shot off Michael Lorenzen, and he later doubled and scored again. He was playing sporadically to begin the season but has now made seven straight starts at DH with Eugenio Suárez (oblique) on the IL. All of his round-trippers have come during this stretch.

After homering three times in the first two games of the series — including a two-run walk-off as the Reds were down to their final out on Saturday — Lowe kept the party going as he smacked a Keider Montero knucklecurve for a 372-foot (98.6 mph EV) solo shot to get the Reds on the board in the second inning. He finished the afternoon 1-for-4 and is now hitting a respectable .256/.333/.605 with four homers and 10 RBI on the season.

The Reds entered the ninth inning facing a one-run deficit and were down to their final out against Tigers’ closer Kenley Jansen with no one on base. Spencer Steer kept hope alive with a two-out single before Lowe stepped up and played the role of hero. He crushed an 0-1 sinker for a 396-foot (104.6 mph EV) two-run shot that sent the Reds’ home faithful into a frenzy. He also swatted a solo shot off of Kyle Finnegan in the sixth inning. The 30-year-old finished the night 2-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI and is now slashing a solid .257/.333/.514 with a pair of homers and eight RBI on the season.

It’s merely a procedural move as Lowe was assured a spot on Cincinnati’s season-opening roster over the weekend when JJ Bleday and Rece Hinds were jettisoned to the minors. The 30-year-old first baseman will serve in a bench role for the Reds but his odds of syphoning at-bats away from Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer on a consistent basis are extremely low.

Lowe did his former Rays teammate dirty as both try to make teams while on minor league deals this spring. Lowe doesn’t really make any sense for the Reds unless they send Sal Stewart down, and they really should not do that. Still, another team might want him as a first baseman against righties, depending on how the spring shakes out.

The 30-year-old hit .228/.307/.381 in 153 games for the Nationals and Red Sox last year with 18 home runs and 84 RBI. He is probably closer to his .264/.347/.424 slash line than last year would suggest, but it’s hard to see a fit here in Cincinnati. With Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base, and Eugenio Suarez at designated hitter, first base already is a competition between Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer. It’s hard to see Lowe sticking in Cincinnati.