Brandon Lowe Bio
Brandon Norman Lowe is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born on July 6, 1994, he has spent his big-league career as a middle-infielder known for above-average power production from the keystone. Lowe made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays and has been named an MLB All-Star in 2019 and 2025. After years of contributing to one of the American League’s most consistent contenders, he now plays for a National League club looking to build around his bat.
Early Life and Background
Brandon Norman Lowe was born on July 6, 1994, in Suffolk, Virginia. He grew up in Virginia as a fan of the New York Yankees, following the franchise from a young age despite spending his career outside its organization. His hometown of Suffolk, located in the Hampton Roads region, provided a deep high school baseball culture that helped shape his early development.
Lowe attended Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Virginia, where he played on the school’s baseball team. He led Nansemond to a district championship as a junior and a district title as a senior. That senior season he was named first-team all-state, first-team all-region, and first-team all-district, accolades that marked him as one of the top amateur players in the region.
Path to Baseball
Following his decorated high school career, Lowe committed to the University of Maryland, College Park, to play college baseball for the Maryland Terrapins. His college path was slowed almost immediately. Two days before the first game of his freshman year, Lowe tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, which caused him to be redshirted and forced him to miss the entire season.
When Lowe returned as a redshirt freshman, he answered with a strong all-around season, earning third-team all-ACC recognition after leading the Terrapins in batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.464), and slugging percentage (.464). In his sophomore season, Lowe led Maryland in hits, walks, runs, and doubles, while finishing second on the team in runs batted in. During the summer of 2014, he played for the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League and was named the circuit’s Most Valuable Player.
Lowe’s final college season ended painfully. Two days before the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, he suffered a broken fibula as the Terrapins lost to the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA super regional. Despite the injury, his body of work over three college summers and two healthy seasons was enough to convince a big-league club to invest a premium pick.
Brandon Lowe Career
Early Career (2015-2017)
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Lowe in the third round, with the 87th overall selection, of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. He recovered from his injury and debuted in 2016 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods, finishing the season batting .248 with five home runs and 42 RBI in 107 games. The line was modest, but it established him as a healthy everyday player entering his first full professional season.
Lowe opened 2017 with the Charlotte Stone Crabs and was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits during the year. With Charlotte he hit .311/.403/.524 with nine home runs and 46 RBI in 90 games and was named the Florida State League MVP. With Montgomery he slashed .253/.270/.389 in 23 games, and after the season he played in the Arizona Fall League, where he was selected to the Fall Stars Game.
Tampa Bay Rays Breakthrough (2018-2025)
Lowe began the 2018 season with the Biscuits and also played for the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League. He was named to the 2018 MLB Pipeline second team of the year after hitting .297/.391/.558 with 22 home runs in 380 at-bats. The Rays promoted him to the major leagues for the first time on August 4, 2018. He recorded his first big-league hit on August 15, hit his first career home run on August 28, and finished the year slashing .233/.324/.450 with six home runs and 25 RBI across 148 plate appearances while splitting time between second base and the outfield.
On March 20, 2019, Lowe signed a six-year contract extension with the Rays for a reported $24 million guaranteed. On April 12, 2019, he went 2-for-5 against the Toronto Blue Jays, recording his first multi-homer game. On July 3, he was named a reserve for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, his first career selection. He finished that season hitting .270/.336/.514 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI in 82 games and placed third in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
In the shortened 2020 season, Lowe hit .269/.362/.554 with 14 home runs and 37 RBI, was named AL Player of the Week after a .448 week with four home runs in August, and was voted team MVP by the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The Rays finished with the best record in the American League. Lowe struggled through the early playoff rounds, going 6-for-56 with one home run through Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Game 2, he broke out with two home runs, setting a record for most home runs by a team in a single postseason and becoming the first Ray and the sixth second baseman ever to hit two home runs in a World Series game.
Lowe returned as Tampa Bay’s starting second baseman in 2021, was again named AL Player of the Week in mid-May, and hit three home runs against the New York Yankees on October 2. He finished the year hitting .247/.340/.523 with 39 home runs and 99 RBI in 149 games and placed 10th in American League Most Valuable Player voting. The 2022 season was interrupted by lower-back and right-triceps issues that limited him to 65 games and eight home runs, and a fractured right kneecap sustained in September 2023 ended that year after 109 games in which he batted .231/.328/.443 with 21 home runs and 68 RBI.
Pittsburgh Pirates Era (2025-Present)
On December 19, 2025, the Rays sent Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team trade. In the deal, the Pirates also acquired Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery, the Astros received Mike Burrows, and the Rays received Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito. The trade brought Lowe’s veteran presence and middle-of-the-order power to a Pirates club in the early stages of a competitive rebuild.
Driving Style and Strengths
Lowe is best known for his pull-side power from the right side of the plate, his willingness to work counts, and his ability to drive the ball to all fields when pitchers challenge him inside. Defensively, he has shown enough arm and range to handle second base on an everyday basis, while his prior outfield experience gives managers flexibility when constructing lineups.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Lowe’s signature moments are his 2019 All-Star selection, his two-homer Game 2 of the 2020 World Series that set a single-postseason team home-run record, and his three-homer game against the Yankees on October 2, 2021. On August 16, 2023, he hit his 100th career home run and became the fastest primary second baseman to reach that mark, doing so in 477 games.
Brandon Lowe Career Wins
Across his MLB career, Brandon Lowe has been recognized primarily for his run production rather than for traditional win totals recorded for a pitcher. His season highlights include a 39-homer campaign in 2021, a World Series breakthrough in 2020, and an All-Star return in 2025.
Tampa Bay Rays Highlights
With Tampa Bay, Lowe strung together multiple 17-plus-homer seasons, earned two All-Star nods in 2019 and 2025, and delivered one of the most memorable individual postseason performances in franchise history during the 2020 World Series. He finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 and 10th in Most Valuable Player voting in 2021.
Other Wins and Performances
Before reaching the majors, Lowe was named the Florida State League MVP in 2017 with the Charlotte Stone Crabs and the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League MVP in 2014 with the Bethesda Big Train. He was also selected to the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game following the 2017 season.
Brandon Lowe Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Brandon Lowe grew up in Suffolk, Virginia, the same region that produced his older brother Carson, who also played professional baseball. The Lowes are not related to Nathaniel and Josh Lowe, both of whom Brandon played alongside on the Tampa Bay Rays.
Personal Life
Lowe is married to former Maryland college softball player Madison Martin, whom he met while the two were student-athletes at the University of Maryland. The couple has a son, and they reside in Nashville, Tennessee, during the offseason.
2025 Season Performance
Lowe opened the 2025 season still with the Tampa Bay Rays and was named a reserve for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, his second career All-Star selection. He provided his usual blend of on-base skills and middle-of-the-order pop as the Rays remained in postseason contention.
On December 19, 2025, the Rays traded Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a three-team deal that also sent Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery to Pittsburgh. The move gave the Pirates an experienced second baseman with a proven track record of 30-plus-homer upside heading into the 2026 campaign.
Looking ahead, Lowe is expected to slot in as Pittsburgh’s everyday second baseman and a run-producing presence in the middle of a developing lineup. His combination of plate discipline, pull-side power, and postseason experience should make him a focal point of the Pirates’ long-term build.