Former Diamond Dog Nate Lowe will make MLB debut Monday night

STARKVILLE, MS (WLBT) - Just hours after getting his call to The Show, former Mississippi State baseball student-athlete Nate Lowe will make his Major League Baseball debut at designated hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Marietta, Georgia native will become the 60th Diamond Dawg to appear in a big league game on Monday (April 29) evening in Kansas City.

A part of the school-record 11 Mississippi State draftees during the 2016 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, Lowe will become the second Diamond Dawg from that group to earn a call-up. Dakota Hudson (St. Louis) made his MLB debut July 28, 2018.

The Rays selected Lowe’s contract from Triple-A Durham ahead of the team’s series opener in Kansas City and optioned Christian Arroyo to Durham. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Lowe, the organization designated Andrew Moore for assignment.

Over four seasons in the minor leagues, Lowe rose quickly through the ranks. After spending his first full season in professional baseball in Single-A during 2017, Lowe started the 2018 season in Advanced A, before playing 51 games in Double-A and 28 games in Triple-A. His 2019 season began in Triple-A before his call up on Monday.

He owned a slash line of .300/.444/.543 in 21 games with the Bulls this season, collecting 21 hits – 11 for extra bases – and walking 17 times. He drove in 14 RBIs and scored 16 times.

The 13th-round draft pick by the Rays in the 2016 MLB Draft, Lowe played just one season for the Maroon and White, hitting .348 as a junior after transferring from St. Johns River State College in Florida. Helping the Diamond Dawgs to a 44-18 overall record and 21-9 mark in the SEC, Lowe was a big part of the Bulldogs SEC Championship in 2016. He hit five home runs, added 20 doubles and drove in 49 RBIs. In 63 starts, the left-handed hitting first baseman struck out just 31 times and walked 32 times.

His efforts in 2016 earned him second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and first-team All-Southeastern Conference accolades. He was also a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll during his one year on the Starkville campus.