DALLAS — Since 2007, when Mark Teixeira was traded away in a landmark deal that ignited a run to back-to-back World Series appearances, the Texas Rangers have not had a first baseman finish in the top ten of the league at the position in OPS.
Players such as Hank Blalock, Chris Davis, Mitch Moreland, Michael Young, Prince Fielder, Mike Napoli, Joey Gallo, and Ronald Guzman have donned the first baseman’s mitt in the interim to varying degrees of success but at a position where having an impact slugger is preferred, the Rangers have been unable to find a long term, high-caliber answer.
Texas is hoping that Nathaniel Lowe will become that answer in 2022.
After two average stints over two seasons spanning 71 games in the big leagues, the Rangers acquired Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays via a trade in December 2020 that included prospects from Texas’ deep cache of lower-level position prospects.
For a rebuilding Texas team, the former 13th round pick in the 2016 MLB draft out of Mississippi State was handed the starting job for the 2021 season with the hopes that he was ready for a breakout campaign to set the Rangers up with a solution to their issues with finding a permanent first baseman.
One season into the Lowe experience and the Rangers are still awaiting that breakthrough. Lowe started 157 games for Texas in 2021 and produced an OPS of .771 which ranked 18th among qualified starters at the position. In total, Lowe hit .264 with 24 doubles, 18 home runs, and 72 RBIs. Once again, the Rangers had a solid player at first base, but they didn’t have the masher that they had coveted.
There were signs in the second half that Lowe was starting to become the kind of performer that the Rangers had traded for, however. After slashing .257/.358/.404 in the first half of the season, Lowe improved to a .273/.356/.429 line after the All-Star break.
Better still, the biggest strides came in the season’s final month when Lowe produced an OPS of .842 in 119 plate appearances. An OPS of .842 over a full season would have been good enough for 11th best in baseball in 2021.
After flirting with acquiring All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics this offseason, the Rangers appear to have settled on seeing if Lowe’s stellar final month can carry over to a full season in 2022. If it does, the Rangers will have found their long-awaited answer at first base with Lowe, who will turn just 27 years old during the 2022 season.
If Lowe is able to take that step forward, he sets himself up as being a part of the core for when the Rangers are eyeing October baseball once again. However, if Lowe is unable to improve upon his 2021 campaign, it might be back to the drawing board at a position that has vexed Texas for many summers.
Do you think Nathaniel Lowe is ready to take a step forward at first base for the Rangers in 2022? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @BaseballTX.