Detroit Tigers: Colt Keith after arm injury; aiming to stay healthy

Detroit Tigers prospect Colt Keith dealing with arm soreness.

It's not the news that the Detroit Tigers were hoping for. Prospect Colt Keith had to sit out a few games as he takes a break from the field. He's been dealing with some arm soreness, which led to a few games to rest up for the prospect infielder. While he has since returned, the sore arm issue is alarming.

The Detroit Tigers have seen Colt Keith really establish himself in 2023, settling into the season well, including a historic performance that included hitting for the cycle last month. The Double-A Erie SeaWolves have benefitted from Keith's bat in the lineup, and the Tigers are excited for what's to come.

There was some thought that Keith might earn the call-up to the big leagues in a promotion that would have him skipping over Triple-A. After all, not all prospect development is linear, even though it's one of those systems where it's out of the ordinary to see that type of promotion.

But, with Keith dealing with an injury and spending more time away from the field, his chances of jumping ship to the big leagues are likely getting lower and lower. First of all, the Tigers need to see him get healthy and prove he can stay at 100% now that he is back in the lineup.

It may prompt a trip to Toledo to see how he can hack it with the Mud Hens, but they must see how things go with Keith first. Keith's had a great season, playing in 51 games for the SeaWolves, where he has slashed .332/.404/.597 with 16 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs.

Plenty to like from Keith, who has walked 24 times and been punched out 51 times over 240 trips to the plate. The stats have been great; the durability is the concern here. It leaves room to be a little worried about the durability and the health questions.

After all, last season, he was off to a red-hot start as well before an injury knocked him out for the whole season. He was diving back into the base and sustained a shoulder injury that kept him out until the Arizona Fall League (AFL), where he went out west and gave Tigers fans plenty to look forward to in 2023.

He came out and was exceptional, as the stats show. He's been really fun to watch and morphed into the team's top prospect as it seems. The issue has been his inability to stay healthy, and the arm soreness brings reason for concern.

But for now, the Tigers will continue to sit on it and hope that the arm soreness is truly nothing more and he can prove that he can stay healthy moving forward.