Nathaniel Lowe is in the spotlight today as Opening Day grows closer. The first baseman was just the subject of a blockbuster trade after spending the 2024 season with the defending champions, though they did miss the postseason.

Until Opening Day, which is 94 days away, Sportskeeda is going to count down with featured players, examining what they’ve done in the past as well as offering some predictions for how they’ll do in 2025. Lowe comes in as the next player on the countdown.

Lowe was with the Texas Rangers and despite their overall team struggles, he had a very solid year. He had 2.8 fWAR and a 121 wRC+ in 140 games. He hit .265 with a very solid .762 OPS.

Lowe is not going to be a free agent until after the 2026 season, but the Rangers elected to move him to the Washington Nationals. The Nats were expected to be aggressive in pursuing a first baseman on the open market but instead swung this trade. The Rangers got lefty Robert Garcia in return.

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Predicting Nathaniel Lowe’s first year with Nationals

Nathaniel Lowe lands with the Washington Nationals, who are slowly comprising a roster of young, promising players. Lowe was with the Texas Rangers following his first two seasons (2020 and 2021) with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He hit just 16 home runs last season, and that number would’ve been 15 with the Nationals, so don’t expect the park to drive an increase in production. In terms of park factor, Globe Life Field and Nationals Park are slightly hitter-friendly, ranking 10th and 11th respectively among all MLB parks.

Fangraphs is projecting a slight dip in production. They expect a 114 wRC+, .258 batting average and .347 on-base percentage. The Nationals lineup doesn’t necessarily offer more protection than the Rangers did, so the team won’t help Lowe improve in all likelihood.

Fangraphs does expect slightly better power numbers. They project two more home runs and a .411 slugging percentage compared to .401 in 2024. However, it only leads to a 1.9 expected fWAR, a dip from 2024.

Our prediction: Lowe provides a little bit of pop with 19 home runs and meshes well with his new lineup. He bats .255 with a .356 on-base percentage, adding a 119 wRC+ and solid defense for a 2.5 fWAR season.