Jed Lowrie - #12 (MI, SS)

Bats: Both, Throws: Right

Age: 26 (Turns 27 on April 17th), Size: 6'0" 180 lbs

Acquired: Drafted in the 1st round (Supp.) of the 2005 amateur draft

Contract: Pre-Arb, Arbitration 1 eligible in 2012 (Earliest FA - 2015)

Comments: In 2005 Lowrie went from the draft to short-season Lowell and hit 0.329 with a 0.429 OBP in 240 PA. In 2006 he moved up to High-A Wilmington and had a so-so season, posting a 0.726 OPS. It was in 2007 that Lowrie really busted out. Between AA and AAA Lowrie put up a 0.298/0.393/0.503 across 585 PAs. During that season he also smashed 47 doubles and 13 Homeruns. In 2008, Lowire earned a spot as a utility player with the parent club after Mike Lowell went on the DL and he did not dissapoint with a 0.739 OPS in 306 PAs (This included 25 doubles). Lowrie started the 2009 season on the 25-man roster as the super-sub infielder, but quickly went on the DL with a wrist injury. Wrist problems hampered his entire 2009 season and his luck got no better as he started the 2010 season with mononucleosis. Finally back and healthy in July of 2010, Lowire produced a half-season that has many Sox fans penciling him in as the starting SS over the incumbent Marco Scutaro. Despite the small sample size (197 PA), Lowrie's 0.907 OPS was the second highest mark for a SS, behind Troy Tulowitzski.

Career Stats (2010 Stats):

PA: 579 (197)

BA: 0.255 (0.287)

OBP: 0.336 (0.381)

SLG: 0.425 (0.526)

OPS: 0.761 (0.907)

wOBA: 0.334 (0.393)

wRC+: 102 (146)

Unique Facts: Lowrie was the PAC-10 Player of the year in 2004 while with Stanford and was the Sox minor league player of the year in 2007.  Lowrie hit the first homerun at Citi Field in the exhibition game on April 4th, 2009.

Analysis: If it were not for his wrist injury, Lowrie would likely already be the starting SS on the team and Marco Scutaro might be wearing another uniform. Despite the setbacks, Lowrie proved last year that the hitting prowess he showed in his brief minor league career is still with him. He will press the Sox for a starting position and its hard to see him not beating out Scutaro as he is just the better player. That's not alot to dislike about Lowrie and a heck of a lot to like. He gets on base, smacks doubles, has decent homerun power and can play multiple positions. Assuming health, I can envision a season with a slashline of 0.280/0.375/0.480 with about 35 doubles and 17 HR.

Tomorrow: Daisuke Matsuzaka