Brandon Lowe DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays left-handed-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe will head to the bench on Friday against a left-handed pitcher in the series opener in the Bronx against the division-rival New York Yankees. Curtis Mead will start at the keystone and hit eighth against Yankees southpaw Max Fried. Lowe has just two hits and six strikeouts in 22 plate appearances against lefties on the year, which is why he's on the bench against one of the better lefties in the game. The 30-year-old veteran hasn't been much better against righties, either, going 21-for-90 (.233) with four home runs and 15 RBI in 95 trips to the plate. Since April 23, Lowe has gone 5-for-33 with a homer, two RBI and 11 K's in 36 plate appearances over eight games. Mead is hitless in just two career at-bats against Fried and has gone 6-for-37 (.162) on the year with no homers and two RBI.

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda and second baseman Brandon Lowe will both start on the bench against a left-hander on Wednesday against the division-rival Boston Red Sox. Curtis Mead will make the start at first base and will bat second, while Coco Montes is starting at second and hitting seventh against Red Sox left-hander Sean Newcomb. Aranda is hitting a strong .414 (19-for-46) on the year with three home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored, but the Mexican slugger has yet to start in 2025 against a southpaw. Lowe has only made one start this year against a lefty, and like Aranda, he also has three home runs on the season in 61 at-bats. Mead has DFS upside as a deep sleeper in the two-hole on Wednesday, but he's gone just 4-for-22 in the early going for Tampa with an RBI and a run scored. Still, he's the better DFS sleeper option than Montes.

Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe has hit safely in eight of his 10 games this season and sports a solid .293 batting average to go with three home runs, eight RBI, and a .366 wOBA. In each of the last three years, Lowe has hit under .250 with a wOBA under .340 despite back-to-back years with 20-plus home runs. The Rays are managing his workload, and he got Wednesday off against a left-handed starter with Curtis Mead stepping in. When he has been in the lineup, though, the 30-year-old Lowe has been productive enough to be a solid option in AL-only leagues and brings good power from a sometimes tricky 2B roster spot.