Recapping Nathaniel Lowe's Sensational August for Rangers

The Texas first baseman had an incredible August, not just in the context of recent Rangers history but in entire AL this season.

In one tweet, the Texas Rangers communication staff conveyed just how incredible first baseman Nathaniel Lowe’s August really was.

Lowe and the Rangers are in Boston for a four-game series that starts on Thursday. He’s coming off being name the American League Player of the Week and he has a .301 batting average going into the final month of the season.

The media that covers the Rangers also named Lowe the Rangers Player of the Month for August, the second time he's claimed that award this season.

But just how good was Lowe’s August?

Lowe finished August batting .389/.450/.648/1.098 (42-for-108), with seven home runs, five doubles, a triple and 21 RBI. The only other players that have hit at least .389 w/ an OPS of 1.098 in a month this season are Austin Riley (July), Yordan Alvarez (June), Paul Goldschmidt (May).

That’s rare company indeed for Lowe, who has never had a better offensive season.

For the month, against American League hitters, Lowe ranked first in batting average, hits (42) and total bases (70). He ranked in the Top 10 in OPS (second), slugging percentage (third), on-base percentage (fourth), home runs (tied for fourth) and RBI (seventh).

When Lowe was named the AL Player of the Week for Aug. 22-28, he was coming off a week in which he led the Majors in RBI (11), tied for the MLB lead in home runs (four) and tied for the MLB lead in total bases (24).

From a franchise history perspective, Lowe’s 42 hits are the highest monthly total since Elvis Andrus had 43 hits in August of 2017. Lowe’s 70 total bases are the most of any Rangers player in a single month since Prince Fielder had 80 in May of 2015.

Then there is his current batting average. If Lowe can maintain his .301 batting average the rest of the season, he’ll become the first Rangers hitter since 2016 to finish the season with a an average of .300 or better.

Both Elvis Andrus (.302) and Adrian Beltre (.300) did it in 2016 with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting race.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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