Detroit Tigers MLB Draft Recap: Colt Keith

The Detroit Tigers go with very talented high school prospect Colt Keith in the final round of the 2020 MLB Draft

Detroit Tigers went all college players before surprising quite a few folks, including myself, by drafting Colt Keith, a high school two-way player out of Biloxi, Mississippi. The Arizona State University-bound infielder and pitcher is expected to sign with Detroit.

The 6’3, 195 lb Colt Keith is a lefty bat that throws right-handed when he pitches and can play all over the infield. He won the 2018-2019 Gatorade Player of the Year for Mississippi, batting .527 average with eight home runs, 49 RBI, and an OPS of .659. Also, add this to his resume, A 2019 Preseason Underclassmen First Team All-American nod from Perfect Game, and was the second-best pitcher in the state of Mississippi, also according to Perfect Game.

The recent winners of the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi include J.T Ginn in 2018 (drafted by the New York Mets in the second round last night) and Atlanta Brave Austin Reily in 2014 so he joins an impressive list of players.

Colt Keith’s best pitches so far seem to be a fastball that sits in the mid-’90s with a curveball and a change-up. According to Prep Report Baseball, he’s fast with a 60 time of 6.69. The Tigers had no intention of having him pitch, instead, having him focus on being a positional player.

For this pick, there was a lot of praise for the Detroit Tigers’ selection of Colt Keith. Brian Sakowski of Perfect Game had the opportunity to watch Keith play in person and he always gives a great overview.

A good sign of things to come is when you see a tweet like this from the player himself.

Overall, the Detroit Tigers in my opinion and others did a great job on this draft. While I am not the type of person give grades for drafts because quite frankly, it’s very hard to tell what will happen but kudos. With some luck and sound decision making by the front office, they went with the best players available and many did not scratch their head after a pick.

For how strange 2020 has been, this has been a highlight for Detroit Tigers fans, who were waiting for anything baseball-related to happen on a cool, summer June night.