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Oakland Athletics: Jed Lowrie’s Offensive Production is Pleasantly Surprising

By Samantha Riley

Apr 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Jed Lowrie (8) hits an RBI single against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Jed Lowrie (8) hits an RBI single against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oakland Athletics re-acquired Jed Lowrie from the Houston Astros on November, 25, 2015

To put it bluntly, I have been both pleasantly surprised as well as disappointed by the Oakland Athletics’ second baseman Jed Lowrie. Since Lowrie was an Athletic in 2013 and 2014, fans thought they knew what to expect from this middle infielder. However, it seems as though Lowrie has returned to Oakland as a different player.

Throughout Lowrie’s career, he has been known for being injury prone as well as having a weak throwing arm for a middle infielder. However, his two seasons in Oakland were the only years where he did not incur a major inquiry and played in over 100 games. So, the A’s were hoping history would repeat itself with Lowrie back in green and gold. So far so good. Lowrie has not landed on the disabled list yet — although it is only a week into the regular season.

Unfortunately, he has not performed well in the field, which was sadly expected. Not only is Lowrie’s arm strength sub-par for second baseman, but he is also playing at a position that he has not fielded at regularly at all throughout his MLB career. Before this season, he had only played a total of 58 games at second.

His lack of experience at second has definitely hinder his ability to provide solid defense. In the six games he has played in 2016, he has already committed three errors. This is not a good trend to see right at the start of the season. However, I will give him the benefit of the doubt since he has not played regularly at second base in a long time.

Besides his lack of defense, Lowrie has been surprisingly productive at the plate. We saw a glimpse of this during spring training when he batted .370 with a 1.05 OPS during March. But, spring training is never really a clear indication of how a player will perform during the regular season. Thankfully, Lowrie has proven that his spring camp numbers were not a fluke.

Even though Lowrie’s current batting average is .222, he has hit seven RBI in just six games. As MLB.com reporter Jane Lee pointed out on twitter after Saturday night’s game, Lowrie is on pace to collect 189 RBI this season. It is doubtful that Lowrie will hit that many RBI, but if his timely hitting continues, he will definitely help the Oakland Athletics win many more games.

Next: A's Pull Off Improbable Win

So, Jed Lowrie has both been sadly as expected when it comes to his fielding ability, but surprisingly productive offensively at the plate. Even though many were worried about the Lowrie acquisition during the offseason, it seems as though he may be a great player for the Oakland Athletics if he can improve his defense. For now, I will definitely enjoy watching Lowrie drive in more runs for the A’s.