Detroit Tigers: Colt Keith vaulted himself up Top Prospect Lists

Detroit Tigers prospect Colt Keith put himself on the radar this fall.

The Detroit Tigers got some excellent performances and some bad out of the Arizona Fall League in 2022. The players out west showed a lot of exciting things and left some things to be desired. Prospect third baseman Colt Keith was one of the players who got plenty out of his time out west.

The Detroit Tigers' top prospect lists will not get much updating until the spring, but Colt Keith vaulted himself up those lists after his fall performance. He had his summer cut short due to injury but was still able to find a way to leave a positive mark on the 2022 season.

The fifth-round pick from the 2020 MLB First-Year Amateur Draft was a bargain for Al Avila and his front-office staff. They took a gamble on the two-way prep player, hoping he would pan out in the long run.

He has taken significant strides in his development and might just be the Tigers top prospect, and he deserves a conversation as to why he may deserve it. At a minimum, he should be added to the team's Top 5, at the very least.

According to MLB dot com's Top-30 list, Keith is number six on the list as of the last update from the mid-season refresh. But, after an internal discussion with the MCB staff, we decided that Keith was the top prospect in the organization.

Keith's performance this fall was precisely what he needed and helped him get on the map for those who did not feel he was going to do much of anything. The young corner infielder logged 19 games for the Tigers where he slashed .344/.463/.541 with six extra-base hits over 80 plate appearances.

This came after he started the season with an impressive 48-game stint with the West Michigan Whitecaps, accumulating 216 plate appearances. He slashed .301/.370/.544, 14 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs.

After sustaining an injury diving back into a base on a pickoff attempt, his summer was cut short. But, after the strong start and excellent finish, it's easy to see why Keith deserves a jump up the prospect rankings.

The off-season could bring some changes, especially amid a roster purge, but there's no reason to go out and move Keith. He should be untouchable, as MCB Co-Expert Matthew Scheidel elaborated on in a recent piece.

It will be interesting to see what the analysts at various MLB media outlets think about the Tigers prospects come Spring, but Keith surely deserves to move up the list.