Prospect Lists can be a bit of a sham. It’s nice to know what people think about the next generation of the game, but often some media outlets miss out on some of the organization’s best prospects. Detroit Tigers prospect, Colt Keith, fell subject to that very recently.
MLB dot com announced their Top 100 prospect list heading into 2023, which included three Detroit Tigers players, but none of them were Colt Keith. Sometimes these lists can be popularity contests. Jackson Jobe and Jace Jung were both former first-rounders, so it makes sense.
Wilmer Flores had one heck of a 2022 season and deserved some recognition, but Keith is one of the more exciting prospects that the Tigers have in the tank. The Tigers farm system may not be the deepest whatsoever, but Keith certainly has an argument to be on the top 100 list.
In 2022, Keith played in 48 games where he hit .301/.370/.544 with 14 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs while driving in 31 runs over 193 at-bats. He was off to quite a good start to the 2022 season with tons of promise; however, an injury put a damper on things.
He very well could be in the same category as Flores; if he had the entire 2022 season to perform as well as he did before sustaining his injury. However, his injury might have gotten him overlooked. But it is worth noting that he was healthy by the time the fall came around.
Keith played the fall with the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .344/.463/541 through 61 at-bats over 19 games played. He managed three doubles and three home runs while having an even BB:K ratio. He was one of the top performers from the AFL among Tigers prospects and showed why he is someone to keep an eye on.
The tools appear to be there with Keith. After all, he passed up college ball to start his pro career, and his development path has been smooth. Seeing the Tigers prospect get left off the MLB dot com prospect list is tough.
Then again, I mentioned that there are oversights. Players get left off the list all the time, but it’s a bit of a slight to Keith, who was more than deserving. Looking at him and Flores, I would say Keith has a better potential future value with the Tigers compared to Flores.
Flores had a great year, but it’s not like he will be a future frontline number one or two starter, whereas Keith could very well get into the big leagues as a third baseman and bring some value. He’s logged time at second, where Jace Jung rules the prospects (positionally at second), but he has a better chance to bring value in the big leagues if all goes well.
Leaving Keith off the Top 100 list was a slight for the Tigers prospect.
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