2025 Fantasy Baseball: Colt Keith Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Sometimes, when searching for upside breakout players, they don't show their winning colors in their rookie season. Keith is a power/average first option at second base while switching to first base in 2025.
First Major League home run for Colt Keith! 👏 pic.twitter.com/26oWLupbJG
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 24, 2024
2B – Colt Keith, DET (ADP – 233.5)
The Tigers selected Keith in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft. Over his first two seasons in the minors, he hit .293 with 79 runs, 11 home runs, 63 RBIs, and eight steals over 417 at-bats. Keith walked 13.0% of the time, with just below the league-average strikeout rate (22.2). He missed the back half of the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury.
His bat showed growth at AA in 2023, leading to a .325 batting average with 43 runs, 14 home runs, 50 RBIs, and two stolen bases over 246 at-bats. Keith also handled himself well at AAA (.287/45/13/51/1 over 261 at-bats). His average hit rate at three levels was 1.800 or higher in 2022 and 2023, pointing to a 30-home run hitter down the road. In addition, his contact batting average (.398) has been stellar in his time in the minors.
Pitchers kept him in check last April (.154/5//5/20 over 91 at-bats) while hitting two home runs or fewer in four other months. His bat looked major league-ready in July (.322 with 18 runs, seven home runs, 17 RBIs, and one stolen base over 87 at-bats). The Tigers gave him 82 at-bats against left-handed pitching (.305/7/1/8/2 with 24 strikeouts).
His swing path was groundball favoring (44.4%), with a much weaker HR/FB rate (9.3) than his time in the minors in 2022 and 2023. Keith had below-par stats in exit velocity (87.9 mph), barrel rate (5.6), and hard-hit rate (35.0).
Fantasy Outlook: The Tigers plan on switching Keith to first base. His strikeout rate (19.8) was favorable in his rookie season, but he needs to work on his walk rate (6.5). His power and batting average metrics came in well below his minor-league path, giving him hidden potential for someone looking at his surface stats. Keith’s second base qualification could be an advantage to some team builds. Possible 20 home runs and 80 RBIs, with a favorable batting average.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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