CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 1: Brandon Lowe #35 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on September 1, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

At the outset of Spring Training, I was unsure of whether Brandon Lowe would break camp with the big league team. But, now it seems as though it is a forgone conclusion.

The Tampa Bay Rays called up Brandon Lowe on August 4th after he tore through Montgomery and Durham, hitting 22 bombs. The young left handed hitter struggled to a 0-19 start at the major league level but rebounded, finishing the season hitting .273 with 6 bombs over his final 37 games.

Overall, Lowe hit .233 with 6 bombs and 25 runs batted in. Although his power was evident coming into Spring Training, it was unclear if he would make the opening day roster due to an already crowed infield.

Daniel Robertson, Joey Wendle, Matt Duffy, Yandy Diaz, Willy Adames, and even Ji-Man Choi are all expected to see time in the infield this year leaving Brandon Lowe with little playing time… or so we thought.

With his playing time seemingly gone, Brandon Lowe was left with only one option, he would have to slug his way on to the roster. Since the beginning of camp he has done just that and then some. Lowe has been a force at the plate this spring, just take a look:

The graphic above speaks for itself, but Lowe is crushing the ball. 8 of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases and he has driven in a league high 13 runs. His slugging percentage is an astounding .862!!! I know it is spring training, but the numbers are very impressive.

With no option other than to let the kid play, Cash has found new ways to get Lowe some playing time. After showing an ability to play both corner outfield positions and second base in 2018, Lowe has started to get some work in at first base this spring. So far, he has played a total of 29 innings at first and has only committed 1 error in 29 chances. First base might jut be his ticket to Tampa Bay in 2019.

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The bottom line is that the kid can flat out hit. If you thought Brandon Lowe was going to start the season in Durham, think again.