Rays Promote Top Prospect After Meeting 13-Pitcher Rule

Major League Baseball will limit its 30 teams to carrying just 13 pitchers as of Monday, June 20. As a result, the Tampa Bay Rays sent right-handed pitcher Luke Bard to the minors. However, that wasn't the only roster move that was pulled off.

Additionally, the Rays used their newly open spot to promote top prospect Josh Lowe from Triple-A Durham. The 24-year-old infielder/outfielder was listed as the MLB's No. 44 prospect on Baseball America's pre-2022 rankings.

#Rays make it official: OF Josh Lowe called up, RH Luke Bard sent down
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) June 20, 2022

Tampa Bay Rays Roster Moves

This call-up will be Lowe's second time playing in the Majors this season. Beginning the year with the Rays, his first stint was nothing short of underwhelming, ending in the former 2016 first-round pick batting .188 with a home run and six RBIs in 19 games (64 at-bats).

Fortunately, it looks like those struggles are firmly behind Lowe. Looking like a different player, he's been productive for the Durham Bulls, passing the home run wall six times while recording 35 RBIs and a .299/.382/.540 slash line in 137 ABs.

Minor-league success doesn't always translate to MLB results, but Lowe has the potential to be a special player and it's up to him to prove that to the Rays. If he can't take advantage of this opprtunity, Tampa Bay won't waste time sending him back to Durham.

It'll be interesting to see if Lowe is back in the Rays' lineup when they host the AL East-leading New York Yankees on Monday night. Despite Tampa Bay being the home team, FanDuel Sportsbook is favoring the Yankees at -130 on the moneyline while the Rays sit at +110.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.