Colt Keith
Colten Thomas Keith
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 211 lb.
- High School Biloxi High School
- Debut March 28, 2024
- Born August 14, 2001 in Zanesville, OH USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Infielder Colt Keith was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 5th and final round of the compressed 2020 amateur draft, out of a high school in Mississippi. He played for four different teams in his first pro season in 2021: the FCL Tigers West and FCL Tigers East of the Florida Complex League; the Lakeland Flying Tigers of Low-A Southeast; and the West Michigan Whitecaps of High-A Central. His batting line between the four stops was .286/.396/.393 in 65 games. In 2022, injuries limited him to just 48 games for West Michigan, now back in the Midwest League, but he hit very well, finishing at .301/.370/.544, with 14 doubles and 9 homers. He played both third base and second base, and was in the Arizona Fall League after the completion of the minor league season, hitting .344 in 19 games for the Salt River Rafters.
He moved up to the Erie SeaWolves of the AA Eastern League to start 2023 and on May 16th had a game for the ages against the Harrisburg Senators. He hit a triple and a homer as Erie batted around in the 1st inning, added a second homer in the 4th, and finished the night with 6 hits, the cycle, and 7 RBIs to lead his team to an 18-4 win. To put this in perspective, no major league players had ever had two homers and six hits while hitting for the cycle, and in fact only four players had ever achieved a cycle while getting six hits. He was named to the American League team for the 2023 Futures Game, then finished the season in AAA with the Toledo Mud Hens. Between the two stops, he appeared in 126 games, hitting .306/.380/.552 with 38 doubles and 27 homers, with 88 runs and 101 RBIs. He was the Eastern League Player of the Month in May and was named a Tigers organizational All-Star.
Following his outstanding 2023 season, the Tigers were convinced they had a budding superstar on their hands and on January 28, 2024 signed Colt for six years, with potential options for two more. The contract guaranteed him $28.6 millions over the first six seasons, with an additional signing bonus of $2 million. He was the starting second baseman on Opening Day that year, batting 6th against the Chicago White Sox on March 28th and going 1 for 4 in a 1-0 win. He started the season slowly, batting just .154 in March and April before he began to pick it up in May. On May 24th, he hit his long-awaited first major league homer, and it came against Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-2 Tigers win. He was then named the American League Rookie of the Month for July, when he hit .322 and slugged .644 while belting 7 homers.
Further Reading[edit]
- Jason Beck: "Tigers sign No. 2 prospect Keith to 6-year contract: Phenom inks deal ahead of MLB debut; contract includes club options for 2030-32", mlb.com, January 28, 2024. [1]
- Jason Beck: "'Weight off my shoulders': Keith hits long-awaited first homer", mlb.com, May24, 2024. [2]
- Brendan Samson: "Mega-cycle: Colt Keith hits milestone and then some: No. 87 overall prospect becomes first player to have a 6-hit cycle with multiple homers", mlb.com, May 17, 2023. [3]
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