The Road to The Show™: Tigers’ Keith

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at Tigers second-ranked prospect Colt Keith. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

After destroying Eastern League pitching during the first half of the season and quickly fitting in at Triple-A Toledo, Colt Keith has seen his stock rise faster than most Minor Leaguers in 2023.

Now ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 26 overall prospect, Keith was limited by injuries and other factors in his first two Minor League seasons but has shown more of his full potential – particularly at the plate – with everyday opportunities this year. He's batting .308/.376/.547 overall with 19 homers, 26 doubles and 75 RBIs in 92 games across the Minors’ two highest levels. Since being promoted to the Mud Hens in late June, he’s batting .276 with an .819 OPS, five homers and 25 RBIs.

The time surrounding his promotion was probably one of the busiest and more successful in his career. The night before his promotion, Keith, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday, helped Double-A Erie clinch a first-half title. The following day, amidst the news that he’d be joining Toledo, he was also invited to participate in the All-Star Futures Game, during which he recorded a base hit in his lone at-bat.

The good times continued in his International League debut on June 28 as he collected three hits, including a 425-foot homer in his first at-bat.

“Colt has been really, really fun to watch all year. In many ways, he embodies the offensive approach we're trying to build around in this organization. He's swinging at the right pitches. He's accessing his power almost every night,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris told reporters at Comerica Park in June.

Although he’s slowed down a bit at the plate over the past few weeks, Keith has earned his spot as one of the game’s best third base prospects – although there isn’t much certainty about his future defensive position.

“The best thing that Colt can do right now is focus on getting better every day,” Harris said. “The standard he's setting at that level, being obsessed with trying to get better every day, is the standard that we want to have at all levels.”

The 6-foot-2, 211-pound infielder was born in Ohio and lived in Utah and Arizona before moving with his family to Biloxi, Mississippi. As a junior at Biloxi High School, Keith was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi. He batted .527 and hit eight home runs while also shining on the mound.

A right-hander, he worked with a three-pitch mix that featured a low-90s fastball with good downhill movement as well as a curveball and changeup. He was limited by a sore arm during the summer showcases heading into the Draft, but there were still some pro scouts who thought he might be better off as a full-time pitcher or at least a two-way player, which is likely what he would have done had he not been signed away from his commitment to Arizona State.

Although the 2020 Draft was shortened by the pandemic to just five rounds, the Tigers managed to plunder the Sun Devils program and talent pipeline. In addition to taking Spencer Torkelson No. 1 overall and shortstop Gage Workman in the fourth round, Detroit called on Keith in the fifth round and lured him away from college ball with a reported $500,000 bonus.

Keith made his pro debut in June of 2021 with Single-A Lakeland. He hit the injured list at the end of July but returned in August to bat .354 over his last 15 games in the Florida State League before earning a promotion to High-A West Michigan.

Keith struggled in his first Midwest League action, batting .162 over the final 18 games of the 2021 season. But he returned to the circuit at the start of 2022 and proved to be one of the best hitters in the system before his regular season was cut short by a shoulder injury. In 48 games, Keith batted .301/.370/.544 with nine homers, and his 150 wRC+ was second-best among Tigers Minor Leaguers with at least 200 plate appearances.

Keith made up for lost time with a brilliant season with Salt River in the Arizona Fall League, during which he earned a spot in the Rising Stars game. He batted .344 with a 1.004 OPS, three homers and 10 RBIs over 19 games in the AFL.

Despite his success, Keith, who bulked up to around 245 pounds as he shifted to the hot corner full time, claimed to feel a little slower and sluggish in the AFL. During the offseason, he worked with former University of Mississippi track coach Brian O’Neal – sometimes alongside Olympic hopefuls and even Orioles star Gunnar Henderson – to improve his speed, flexibility and athleticism.

The offseason work seemed to pay off right away for Keith in the Eastern League at the start of 2023. He batted .325 with a .977 OPS over 59 games before being promoted to Toledo. The highlight of his SeaWolves tenure was his six-hit cycle, during which he hit two homers – a feat that has never been accomplished in the Majors.

While he still projects as more of a third baseman, Keith has split time more evenly between the hot corner and second base since his promotion to Triple-A.

A 2023 promotion to Detroit seems less likely at this point in the season, but with his talents at the plate, Keith should factor heavily into the club’s plans for the future.

“I think the development goals for him right now are continuing to see different types of pitching, working to refine his defense at both third base and second base, and making up for some of those lost reps that he had so far in his young career,” Harris said. “If he continues to do that, he's gonna be just fine.”