Colt Keith is not in the lineup on Thursday against the Royals.
With Kris Bubic on the mound, the Tigers will again sit Keith, move Kevin McGonigle to third base, and let Javier Baez play shortstop. Keith did struggle in limited at-bats versus lefties last year, but over 135 plate appearances in his career, Keith is slashing .254/.304/.302 against lefties with a 26 percent strikeout rate. Unfortunately for him, Baez, Wenceel Perez, and Matt Vierling all have much more success versus lefties. The only hope for Keith would be that he could steal playing time from Jahmai Jones, who has slahed .251/.342/.485 against lefties in 190 career plate appearances. Maybe the Tigers would allow their former top 25 overall prospect more at-bats at the expense of a journeyman bench bat.