Brandon Lowe Providing Pirates With More Than Offense; Inside His Defensive Turnaround

Photo provided by Eddie Provident

One of the first calls Brandon Lowe received when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates was from his new infield coach, Chris Truby.

Coming off a career-worst season in the field in which he had minus-14 defensive runs saved and ranked in the first-percentile with minus-14 outs above average, Truby wanted it to be known that he felt like Lowe was capable of being a strong defender.

“I remember thinking to myself with this guy, you look at the numbers and the numbers don’t match up with what the player should be and what it could be,” Truby explained. “So, you start to dive in and start to dig and have conversations with him. He was all in on doing whatever it took to get better.”

After being one of the worst defenders at his position with the Tampa Bay Rays last season, the early returns on his first few weeks with the Pirates have been encouraging.

In 18 games at second base, the 31-year-old has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and ranks in the 86th-percentile with two outs above average. He’s also had his best arm strength since 2022.

Lowe has noticed a difference.

“There are some balls that I’ve gotten to this year that I don’t know if I get to them last year,” he said. “I feel like I’m getting better jumps and better reads on balls.”

There are several reasons that could explain why Lowe is performing better defensively this season, and health is one. Last year, Lowe spent some time on the injured list with oblique tightness – which tends to linger – and left foot/ankle tendonitis.

Good health, combined with some things Truby identified, have put Lowe in position to succeed.

“He’s a good athlete and I wanted him to play more athletic,” Truby explained. “I felt like he was maybe a little bit stagnant, so we just kind of put him in a more athletic position to start. He’s been getting off the ball well and he’s been moving well.”

Lowe has consistently been a strong performer at the plate in his career and that has continued during his first season with the Pirates.