Tigers Young Star Finally Emerging as Dangerous Slugger After Early Struggles

The Detroit Tigers have been playing some terrific baseball as a team all season long; however, not everyone got off to a tremendous start.

After having his position changed during spring training, coming off an up-and-down rookie year, young 23-year-old Colt Keith struggled both on defense and at the plate to start 2025.

The emergence of Spencer Torkelson caused him to lose his new position at first base, while Gleyber Torres' presence took away second. When Torres was hurt early, Keith moved back to second and seemingly had the yips with the glove, and the bat was even worse.

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In the month of April, he slashed a paltry .186/.324/.254 in 24 games. This was coming off a rookie season -- one he was extended prior to -- where he slashed just .260/.309/.380 in 148 games. While some fan faith dwindled, the Tigers kept the faith in the youngster and allowed him to play through it.

That faith is finally starting to pay off and Keith has been one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball over the last couple of months.

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With clutch home runs in each of the first two games of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays, including what proved to be the game winner in the seventh inning on Tuesday night, Keith is stepping into his own.

Colt Keith has been one of the AL's best hitters since the start of June, ranking 5th with a .322 batting average and T-8th with a .944 OPS (among hitters with 100 PA). pic.twitter.com/3howCzI4oK
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) July 9, 2025

Since June 1, he is slashing .322/.388/.556 with four home runs and 14 RBI, not only performing as one of the best hitters on the team but one of the best in baseball.

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On the season as a whole, Keith has raised that slash line to a very respectable mark considering his cold start of .269/.350/.450 with eight home runs and 30 RBI, numbers that continue to move in the right direction as everything comes together for the young star.

Detroit has Keith locked up at a very small number through 2032 on an extension, which was largely questioned during his rookie season and the first portion of this year.

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As someone who is still a relatively young player with limited minor league experience before being called up, Keith is still finding his way as a hitter. He also has the positional flexibility to play first, second, or third base and no matter where he is, he looks like a major part of this team's future.

Keith's contract has the potential to be Scott Harris' most savvy move yet, and the team's trust in their evaluation of Keith and others is finally starting to pay absolute dividends this season.

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