PIT
Josh Lowe, OF
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Scouting report
There's no change to Lowe's report since he was sequestered at the alt site all year, which just wasn't good at replicating an environment that can tell us about the things relevant for Lowe's stock, including the balance of his walks and strikeouts, his defensive progression in center field, and if the shift in his batted ball profile that seemed to occur in 2019 (and that I'm betting is very meaningful) is real. From last year: Things may finally be starting to gel for Lowe, who has had tantalizing tools since high school. He was a power/speed prep bat without a clear position, but most of the amateur half of the industry assumed he'd be able to play center field if not shortstop or third base, where he played in high school. He quickly moved to the outfield and has played almost exclusively in center since 2017. He isn't great there, but most of Lowe's other abilities have been slow to develop, so it's possible his feel for the position will come later, too. For instance, Lowe has big all-fields power but has been strikeout prone since his prep days. Once he began playing pro games and generating data, however, it became clear that, despite the whiffs, he had a great idea of the strike zone. The raw power didn't really show up in games until Lowe's batted ball profile began to shift in 2018. His groundball rates were in the mid-40% range until that year but slowly began shifting downward. Then Lowe had a breakout statistical 2019 as a 21-year-old at Double-A. He's always going to strike out, but he's also probably going to keep walking a lot, especially now that the power is a real threat. It's pretty important that he stay in center field to take some pressure off of the hit tool. If he can do that, he'll be an everyday player. (Alternate site)