Tigers Young Infielder Poised for Massive Breakout Season in 2026
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The Detroit Tigers headed into the offseason with fans hopeful to see some real steps taken towards serious contention in terms of acquiring new stars and spending big money in free agency.
Scott Harris and the front office have done some nice things in this category especially in the bullpen, but for the most part, the Detroit faithful has been disappointed by the lack of urgency to change things up.
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Perhaps the quiet offseason though -- at least in the mind of the organization -- can be explained by having faith in making huge steps internally. As is the case for every team in baseball, internal improvement is always more important than external anyway.
The best example of this is a young Tigers infielder who has shown some serious flashes but has yet to put it all together to this point. In 2026 though, it could be the breakout campaign for Colt Keith that Detroit has been waiting for.
Colt Keith May Be On Cusp of Breaking Through
Since the season came to a close, Harris, as well as A.J. Hinch, have done nothing but heap praise on the versatile young infielder. After starting his career at second base, Keith moved to first last spring only to return to second and then play third in the second half of the year, and do it at a high level.
He has done everything the organization has asked him to do despite the changes likely negatively impacting his defensive development, and in the process, his offensive numbers have started to climb significantly.
An overall slash line of .256/.333/.413 did not light the world on fire, but Keith is improving in critical categories like barrel rate, power, exit velocity, walk rate and more of the kind of areas that Detroit highly covets.
Clearly, he's going to be a huge part of the plan in 2026, but where he does end up playing could be fascinating.
Keith Could Be Tigers Full-Time Third Baseman This Season
Keith was not a liability by any means at the hot corner, and if he had a full offseason of training with the knowledge he was going to play third, he could get even better there. With Gleyber Torres set to occupy second and Spencer Torkelson at first, third could be Keith's only path to an every day role.
Not to mention the fact that Detroit is obviously in desperate need of someone to emerge there, so it would not be a surprise to see the 24-year-old take on the job to begin the season with further evaluation to come from there.
If Keith could comfortably settle in defensively at a regular spot and be a regular face in the daily lineup, he just might have all the makings of a year three breakout candidate. Should he be able to reach his potential, Keith has the ability to completely change the outlook of the Tigers' offense in 2026.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.