Colt Keith is finally heating up for the Tigers and the timing couldn’t be better

By now, Detroit Tigers fans should know not to panic when Colt Keith has a slow start to the season. And yet, most of us did it anyway.

One month into the 2025 campaign, things were looking bleak for Keith. He was slashing just .186/.324/.254 with a pair of extra-base hits through the month of April. His first homer of 2025 didn't come until the final day of the month. Add in the challenge of juggling multiple position changes, and many Tigers fans were concerned that their $28.6 million man was already a bust after just one big league season.

But again, we should have seen this coming. Keith didn't hit his first homer of 2024 until late May last year. That would end up being the launchpad for a stellar rookie season that included a .343 batting average in May and a Rookie of the Month award in July. How quickly we forget.

“It’s been every season of my career – even in the minors – I’ve never had a good April,” Keith told Evan Woodberry of MLive. “I’m always trying to break that pattern. But like I said, I’m seeing the ball well, so hopefully I can keep that going.”

Colt Keith is finally heating up for the Tigers and the timing couldn’t be better

In the week that has passed since he hit the two-run blast that traveled 406 feet at Daikin Field in Houston, Keith has looked like a different player. In 18 trips to the plate over his last seven games, his slash line has improved to .222/.364/.722 with three home runs and five RBI.

While Keith's brutal start at the plate this season may have had us sweating a bit throughout April, his past performance tells us he's going to be just fine. The Tigers still believe he is a key part of their lineup for the foreseeable future. At just 23 years old in his second MLB season, he still has time to find that level of consistency in his game.

Hopefully, just like last year, Keith's hot start to May will open the floodgates and lead to more consistent production from the plate.

More Tigers content from Motor City Bengals