Much of the Detroit Tigers' season has showcased forgettable baseball, with some standout players like Tarik Skubal being rare bright spots. However, rookie Colt Keith delivered a memorable moment Saturday, belting a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Keith sounded off on the comeback victory, which saw Detroit win 11-9 in 10 innings after trailing by five entering the ninth, via The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen.
“Playing the Dodgers, obviously they’ve got a billion dollars’ worth of players,” Keith said. “(We were) able to beat them with the boys here.”
Keith's comment may seem hyperbolic, but it's not an exaggeration. Los Angeles has over $1 billion tied up in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto's contracts alone. This season, the Dodgers have the league's fourth-highest payroll at $249.8 million, while the Tigers are 24th at $103.8 million.
While Los Angeles has a star-studded and expensive roster, Detroit may have found a young stud of its own. After a slow start to his career, Keith has hit .327 with seven homers over his past 27 games. The 2020 fifth-round pick is on a 13-game on-base streak, and his .509 slugging percentage since May 11 leads all rookies.
This All-Star-level production came after hitting just .152 with no homers over his first 30 games. What caused the change?
Keith re-centered himself after struggling early in his Tigers tenure
Like many other young players, Keith took some time to adjust to major-league pitching. The second baseman explained that he's always started slow.
“I’ve had this at every level where I go up and I struggle,” Keith said. “I feel like I can’t see the ball, can’t see spin, can’t do anything right. This was just a really dramatic big step up. It’s one of the longest adjustment periods I’ve had in my career. When you’re struggling, I feel like everything is just chaotic.”
Now, the damage he's inflicting on baseballs is what's been chaotic. The 22-year-old is showing why Detroit gave him $28.6 million guaranteed over six years before he played his first big-league contest. The king-sized deal maxes out at $82 million over nine seasons with club options and incentives.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch couldn't be more pleased with what he's seen.
“He’s in such a good place mentally and physically,” Hinch said. “Most importantly, emotionally. I know from the very beginning he always thought he belonged, but you still have to prove it to the boys. You have to prove it to the fans. You got to prove it to yourself sometimes.”
Keith certainly proved that he could pull a monster shot over the right-field fence when it matters most, via MLB on X.
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