Colt Keith, Justyn-Henry Malloy Will Get Work At First Base At Spring Training
According to Chris McCosky, the Tigers are planning to use Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy at first base during Spring Training. While McCosky noted that Keith will still likely operate as the regular second baseman, this move could just add more positional flexibility to the roster. Keith made his major league debut last season and logged 133 of his starts at the keystone and the other 14 as the designated hitter. He held a .260/.309/.380 slash line. Malloy, however, made all of his starts in the outfield, and shifting to first base could provide him more opportunities during the 2025 season. Across a 71-game stint in the majors this past summer, Malloy held an underwhelming .203/.291/.366 line with seven doubles and eight home runs. Given his struggles, moving to first base could get him in the lineup more often, while Keith should be viewed as the No.1 second baseman heading into Spring Training.
Colt Keith Taking A Seat Against Southpaw In Game 5
Detroit Tigers rookie second baseman Colt Keith will start on the bench in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday at Progressive Field against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians with a lefty on the mound. Andy Ibanez will make the start at the keystone and will bat cleanup against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd. Ibanez, 31, isn't your typical No. 4 hitter. The Cuban infielder hit a mediocre .241/.295/.357 during the regular season with a below-average .652 OPS, five home runs, 32 RBI and 30 runs scored in 244 trips to the plate over 99 games played in his second year in Detroit. He picked up hits in each of the first two playoff games in the Wild-Card Series against the Houston Astros but has gone hitless in four games since. Overall, he's gone 2-for-8 with two doubles, three RBI and a strikeout in six games (eight plate appearances). Ibanez has gone hitless in his two career at-bats against Boyd with one strikeout.
Detroit Tigers rookie second baseman Colt Keith will retreat to the bench for Monday's Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field with a left-hander on the mound. Andy Ibanez will start at second base for the Tigers and will hit third in the batting order against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd. The lefty-hitting Keith has never faced Boyd in his career and will take a seat in this one despite the fact that he hit .305 (25-for-82) with just one of his 13 home runs on the year against southpaws in 2024. Ibanez, meanwhile, hit .292 (40-for-137) against lefties this year, but he lacks enough punch at the plate to make him a very enticing DFS sleeper pick. The 31-year-old Cuban infielder slashed a modest .241/.295/.357 this year with only five home runs, 32 RBI and 30 runs scored in 224 at-bats.
Detroit Tigers rookie second baseman Colt Keith (shoulder) banged up his right shoulder on a dive in the fifth inning of Tuesday's 3-1 extra-inning win over the division-rival Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium and was removed from the game early. Keith will undergo more testing on Wednesday, at which point we'll have a better idea of how much time he may have to miss. Either way, the 23-year-old probably won't be available to play on Wednesday. Before being replaced at the keystone by Zach McKinstry, Keith went 1-for-2 with a walk at the plate. If Keith's injury is serious enough to keep him out to close out the 2024 season, McKinstry and Andy Ibanez would be the primary options for playing time at second in Detroit. Keith came into Tuesday's game hitting .263 (129-for-491) with 13 homers, 58 RBI and seven steals in 138 games in his first year in the majors.
Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith (hamstring) is back in the starting lineup on Saturday at Comerica Park against the New York Yankees and left-hander Carlos Rodon, serving as the designated hitter and batting cleanup. Keith did not play in the series-opening loss on Friday night due to a sore left hamstring but is back in action for the second game of the series. The 23-year-old is hitting .249/.302/.378 with a below-average .680 OPS, 11 home runs, 43 RBI and six stolen bases in 386 at-bats in his first year in the big leagues in 2024. He's faced left-handers only 54 times this year but his hitting .294 (15-for-51) against them with one of his 11 home runs. Keith has never faced Rodon on his career.
Colt Keith Homers Saturday Afternoon In Victory Over Minnesota
Detroit Tigers rookie second baseman Colt Keith homered and tripled Saturday in a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Keith is now hitting .259 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, five stolen bases, and 40 runs scored on the season. The rookie had a rough start to the 2024 season, but has hit extremely well over the last 30 days: he's hitting .318 with eight homers, 21 RBI, two stolen bases, and 22 runs scored. In some leagues, Keith has both second-base and third-base eligibility and is proving to be a valuable player for fantasy purposes.
Detroit Tigers rookie second baseman Colt Keith is out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the hosting Toronto Blue Jays with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on the bump. With Keith riding pine to start the game, Andy Ibanez will start at the keystone and will bat leadoff for the Tigers against Kikuchi. The 22-year-old left-handed hitting Keith has been serviceable in deeper leagues in his rookie year in 2024 by hitting nine home runs, driving in 37 and stealing five bags in 87 games, but he has only two doubles, no home runs and two RBI in 42 plate appearances against left-handers this year. Ibanez is a low-upside DFS sleeper on Saturday in the leadoff spot. The Cuban infielder is hitting a nice .288 (38-for-132) but has very little power or speed.
Colt Keith Has Monstrous Day At Plate, Hits Game Tying Homer On Saturday
Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith had a huge day at the plate on Saturday, going three-for-four with four RBI while also hitting a game tying HR in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Tigers 11-9 extra innings win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Keith's two-run shot off Evan Phillips was his ninth of the season. He also added on a two-run double to tally four RBI. Keith's OPS is now up to .706 on the season thanks to a monstrous tear in July where he has a 1.337 OPS in 42 AB. The rookie is continuing to impress and is set for a big second half. Fantasy managers that happen to find Keith on their waiver wire need to snag him up immediately. He'll look to continue his hot July against the Dodgers on Sunday, who have yet to name a scheduled starter.
Detroit Tigers infielders Colt Keith and Wenceel Perez are not in the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. Andy Ibanez is starting at second base and will bat leadoff for Detroit, with Ryan Vilade playing right field and batting ninth against Dodgers left-hander James Paxton. Vilade was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Friday. Both Keith and Perez have been swinging hot bats for the Tigers, but they'll take the day off to kick off the weekend. Keith, a 22-year-old rookie, has been especially productive so far in July, going 13-for-37 (.351) with four home runs, two triples, nine RBI, a stolen base and 12 runs scored in 10 games. Ibanez, 31, has hit an impressive .288 (36-for-125) this year in limited playing time, but his DFS upside as a sleeper is limited because of his lack of power and speed.
Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith had the first two-homer game of his career in Friday's narrow win over the hosting Cincinnati Reds. After launching a towering homer off Reds right-hander Carson Spiers to right-center field, extending the Tigers' lead to 2-0 in the third inning, Keith left the yard again in the fifth frame to give Detroit a 4-0 lead. It still hasn't been a great rookie season overall from the 22-year-old lefty-hitting infielder, who's slashing .240/.285/.361 with seven big flies, nine doubles, 28 RBI, and four stolen bases across 281 plate appearances in 2024. With that said, Keith is picking up some steam with three consecutive multi-hit efforts.
Colt Keith
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Tigers
