Fifth round draft pick in 2004 out of Texas. Lowe was a swingman in college who didn't have the stats to warrant such an early selection, but offered plenty of projection with a large frame (6' 4") and good velocity.
Lowe began his professional career in Everett during 2004 and fared reasonably well. 2005 saw Lowe assigned to A ball in Wisconsin and the organization converted him to a full-time starter. Lowe was not as successful in that role, seeing his walk rate rise (normal given the rise in competition level), and his strikeout rate plunge (not normal).
2006 began with a return to the swingman role and promotion to high-A ball at Inland Empire where Lowe dominated striking out 46, walking 11 and yielding just 14 hits (0 HRs) in 29.1 innings. Promoted up to AA in San Antonio, Lowe was still effective though not nearly as much; he struck out 14, walked 3 and gave up 14 hits (1 HR) in 16.2 innings.
In July of 2006, with the Mariners needing relief help, Mark Lowe was promoted to the team straight from AA. He made his debut on July 7th, 2006 against the Tigers. Lowe surrendered a single, a double and hit the first three batters he saw, loading the bases with no outs. He then proceeded to strike out Placido Polanco, induce a comebacker from Ivan Rodriguez and strike out Magglio Ordonez. The LL faithful were very impressed.
Featuring a heater reaching triple digits, a plus slider and a decent changeup, Mark Lowe would go on to have a very good six weeks with the team, leading to a bullpen (comprised of George Sherrill, Rafael Soriano, Mark Lowe and JJ Putz) not seen since 2001 when we had vintage Arthur Rhodes, Jeff Nelson and Kazuhiro Sasaki. Mark Lowe set a club record with 17.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start his big league career.
Mark Lowe was placed on the disabled list August 20, 2006 due to tendonitis in the right elbow, and was forced to miss the remainder of the 2006 MLB season. He would later have microfracture surgery to replace a genetic defect in the cartilage therein.* His timetable to return is tentatively set around the All-Star break of 2007, though whether he returns with the same stuff is unknown as this is an unprecedented condition. Jeff Sullivan's writeup is here.
Since his return, Lowe has been inconsistent with his command, control and velocity, leading to prolonged bouts of complete ineffectiveness. Considering his age, cost and potential, Lowe is still a decent option out of the bullpen. However, it remains to be seen whether he is capable of fulfilling the immense potential he flashed in his first year.
*Lowe's injury wasn't a result of overuse.
