Detroit Tigers Minor League Report Player of the Year: Colt Keith

The Tigers Minor League Report has launched its first-ever Detroit Tigers Minor League Player of the Year Awards, an initiative independent of the Detroit Tigers organization but dedicated to recognizing standout performances within its farm system. The awards will feature four categories: Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Reliever of the Year, and Breakout Player of the Year.

Voting for the accolades was conducted by our panel of experts. Myself, Chris Brown, Colin Arthur, and Jerry Mackinem along with Brandon Day of BlessYouBoys.com and Scott Bentley, host of the Locked on Tigers podcast all voted on each category. The awards goal is a tip of the cap to the hard work the players have put into it.  Our voting went by how baseball writers decide MVP votes so three points for first place votes, two points for second and one point for a third place vote. Here’s how our voting went down.

Why Colt Keith was named the Detroit Tigers Minor League Report Player of the Year

Me: Colt Keith demonstrated at both Erie and Toledo he could hit the ball with power and average. He was the big reason why Erie qualified for the postseason. His splits in Erie in 59 games were impressive. .325/.391/.585 with a WRC+ of 163. The hitting for the cycle 6-for-6 game on May 16 was an example of how much of an advanced hitter he was. Since we saw his debut at West Michigan, his pitch recognition was far more advanced that anyone at the system at that time, which is why we had no problem putting him as our number one prospect.

Does he have a set position? I think he will be serviceable at second, and I also believe he is more than ready to go up to Detroit. This statline provided by Jerry also helps his cause. One of only 4 players to get 300+ PA in AAA at 21 or younger, only one of the four to have a BB% over 10% and K% below 20%.

Brandon Day:Keith’s defense will always be a drag on his overall value, but he’s about as good a bet to hit as Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson were.

Chris Brown:

It seems hard to believe now, but Colt Keith wasn’t a consensus top prospect heading into the 2023 season. We had him at the top of the Tigers system, but not many national sites agreed. And both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline left him off their top 100 lists entirely. We’re not saying this to gloat, but to point out that few had higher expectations for Keith than we did. And he still managed to blow us away with his performance.

It was a year filled with memorable games. His first Double-A homer was a 3-run walk-off blast in extra innings. Then there was his epic 6-for-6 cycle, when he hit two homers and drove in seven runs. Or how about his titanic 473-foot, traffic-stopping bomb in Columbus?

We here at @tigersMLreport try to gather as many details as possible when it comes to baseball. Even audio you may of missed.

Here’s Colt Keith’s home run from last night. pic.twitter.com/7Mm8ozIZWm

— Rogelio Castillo (@rogcastbaseball) July 1, 2023

🚨Colt Keith Walk-Off Home Run🚨
Keith with a 3-run blast in the 10th to give Erie a 13-10 win. It’s his first at the Double-A level, and @Greg_Gania has all the details. pic.twitter.com/YFIH6lBM5Z

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 14, 2023

They all were a part of a spectacular season in which Keith hit .306 with 27 home runs, 68 extra-base hits, and 101 RBIs in 126 games. And he did it in the upper minors, mostly at the age of 21. Keith is just the second Tigers minor leaguer in the last 50 years with a .300+ batting average, 25+ home runs, and 100+ RBIs in the same season (Gabe Kapler, 1998).

It was truly one of the best seasons ever from a Tigers position prospect.

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