Josh

Lowe

While surprising, Lowe has badly struggled at the plate throughout the season — slashing a woeful .184/.226/.320 — so having time to retool his swing and find himself again isn’t the worst idea. Wade Meckler was promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move on Friday.

That’s the good news. The bad is that he committed two errors in left field, and he couldn’t put a bunt down before striking out as the leadoff man in the bottom of the 10th. Lowe is hitting .333 over his past 10 games, so that’s a little something. He has five homers on the year but just a .182/.225/.322 line overall.

Lowe had a couple of hard-hit flyballs today, but as per usual this season, he got a little too far under both to hit them out. Lowe’s 24-degree launch angle this season is one of the highest marks in the league and far higher than his career average of 13 degrees. Maybe he’ll figure it out, but he’s been a big liability thus far.

Lowe is batting just .167, but he does have three homers and nine RBI through 62 plate appearances. His chances of pulling off a big rebound don’t seem great, given his poor exit velocity and strikeout numbers to date, but he might get to 20 homers and 20 steals without being much help elsewhere.

Schanuel will take a breather with southpaw Ryan Weathers on the bump for the Angels. It’ll be Vaughn Grissom handling the colder corner and hitting fifth in Schanuel’s absence. Josh Lowe also gets the evening off with Bryce Teodosio getting the nod in left and hitting ninth.

This is the first time that the Angels have faced a left-handed starter this season, and both Nolan Schanuel and Josh Lowe are on the bench. That will be something to monitor as the season goes on. Jeimer Candelario will start at first base and bat seventh, while Bryce Teodosio will play left field and bat ninth.

Lowe broke things open for the Angels in the second inning when he took Mike Burrows deep for a three-run shot, putting the Angels up 4-1. Lowe, who also doubled in this one, hit just 11 homers in 396 at-bats last season but does have one 20 homer season on his resumé. He could have some fantasy upside in deeper leagues, especially if he sees some base-stealing opportunities.

He also swiped his first base of the spring. Lowe is 5-for-17 with a homer and nine RBI in five games since returning from his mild oblique injury. One of the game’s best percentage basestealers, Lowe could offer some mixed-league value if he does enough running this year. He’ll be hitting in the bottom half of the Angels order, so there will be little reason for him to hold back.

It’s an encouraging sign to see Lowe driving the ball with authority after missing multiple weeks with an oblique issue earlier in camp. The 28-year-old corner outfielder will get a couple additional games under his belt in the coming days and should be a full-go for next week’s season opener.

Lowe returns to Los Angeles’ lineup for the first time since suffering a left oblique injury back in late February. The 28-year-old corner outfielder has expressed optimism about being ready for Opening Day, and his return to game action suggests he’s absolutely trending in that direction. He’s a late-round option for fantasy purposes given his checkered injury history.