Can Brandon Lowe return to his old ways?

Brandon Lowe has been a divisive player for Rays fans throughout his tenure.

His critics pointed to his high strikeout rates, the fact that he could never stay healthy, his hot-and-cold nature at the plate, his lack of defensive prowess or baserunning skills, and his struggles in postseason play.

Fans pointed out that he's been one of the best-hitting second basemen throughout his career, with his 2021 peak season even garnering MVP consideration.

But now, it's tough to defend him, as he's not hitting at nearly a good enough rate to make up for his usual pedestrian defense and bleh baserunning.

Can he bounce back to where he once was, mashing bombs and instilling fear in opposing pitching staffs?

Of course; anything is possible in baseball, but the bigger question of just how much of his old power he can regain is something that might not be an answer Rays fans want to hear.

Let's start with B-Lowe's bat speed, which has taken a dip from 73.4 to a flat 72 this season.

It's still early, and there's always the possibility that he's nursing some kind of injury (because when isn't he), but it's not a good sign for someone who hasn't been hitting the ball nearly as hard as usual.

His 23.1% squared up rate isn't good, but he does have fine hard-hit rates and average exit velocities, but even those have taken a dip from his usual stellar marks in those areas.

Of course due to Lowe's lack of pop this season, he hasn't been walking nearly as much either, contributing to a putrid .248 OBP for the year.

Speaking of raw production as opposed to trying to wade through the under-the-hood stuff to try and figure out if he can turn things around, his .126 ISO is also a career-low, not an encouraging sign for a player whose reliance on his ability to hit with pop is one of the highest on the team.

If he can manage to regain a bit of that bat speed, whether it's by getting healthy or altering his approach again, it will hopefully boost his overall offensive production, which is sitting at a 70 wRC+ for the season.

Unfortunately he's actually hitting the most line drives of his career and is pulling the ball more than he ever has, but he just isn't hitting as many fly balls, with his fly ball rate dipping below 40% for the first time in his career since his rookie season, so most of his struggles couldn't be solved by one of those easy "Hey, just pull the ball" adjustments.

But, because his launch angle is the lowest it's ever been, maybe with that short porch in right the answer wouldn't be trying to reclaim his old glory, but getting him to hit the ball in the air just as much as he was before, creating more long-ball chances.

He still isn't very good defensively, as he's perfectly average so far at second according to outs above average, but history would suggest even that isn't sustainable, especially as he's about to turn 31 in July.

Being on the wrong side of 30 is never a good thing for any player, and if this truly is the start of Brandon Lowe's decline, it's a sad thing.

But fortunately for the Rays, they can get out of paying Lowe any huge money moving forward, as they have a club option for 2026 that they can decline.

So maybe B-Lowe truly is cooked, but if he is, it was a great ride, and the Rays can confidently move on and wait for one of their promising young prospects to come up and take his place.