Colt

Keith

As is often the case, Carpenter and Colt Keith find themselves starting on the bench against an opposing left-hander, in this case it’s MacKenzie Gore taking the hill for the Rangers. Jahmai Jones will start in his place in left field and will bat third for the Tigers on Friday evening in Motown.

Once again Keith finds himself on the bench with an opposing left-hander on the hill for the Reds. It’s the fourth time in the Tigers’ last six games that Keith has started the game on the bench with a lefty on the mound. He’ll undoubtedly come off the bench to face a right-hander at some point in the game. Hao-Yu Lee will draw a start at second base and will bat eighth while Gleyber Torres functions as the team’s designated hitter on Friday evening against Andrew Abbott and the Reds in Cincinnati.

Keith was out of the lineup on Wednesday despite the Brewers clearly using an opener. He was then brought in as a pinch hitter and went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Tigers’ desire to platoon him so strictly is a major headache for fantasy managers, as is the fact that he has six RBI in 22 games despite slashing .324/.351/.423. We understand if you don’t want to hold on in fantasy leagues.

Torkelson is hitting just .182/.333/.227 in 81 plate appearances this season. It’s nice that he’s walking more, and that’s clearly part of his plan since his overall swing rate has dropped eight percent; however, Torkelson is also taking far more called strikes, and his strikeout rate is actually up from last season. His hard-hit rate is still in line with what he produced last year, and his swinging strike rate is better, so the first baseman may need to simply tweak his approach to stop being as passive as he has been. Colt Keith will play first base and hit third on Monday with Hao-Yu Lee at third base and batting eighth.

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.

Keith draws a rare night off with rookie Kevin McGonigle at the hot corner while Javier Báez takes over at shortstop with Matt Vierling in center field to face Royals southpaw Cole Ragans. The 24-year-old has been one of Detroit’s primary offensive catalysts this season, slashing .340/.375/.472 with 10 runs scored, seven doubles and four RBI through 15 games.

Carpenter will miss his second straight contest as he deals with a stomach bug. It’ll be Zach McKinstry taking over in right field with Colt Keith at DH and occupying the leadoff spot.

McGonigle gets a look atop Detroit’s lineup with red-hot Colt Keith being moved to the third spot in the order with veteran Gleyber Torres sandwiched in between. The 21-year-old hitting machine has been a revelation in his first taste of the majors, hitting .303/.410/.455 with four extra-base hits and five RBI through nine games. He’s also walked six times while only striking out five times during that span.

Keith finds himself atop Detroit’s lineup for the third time in the last four games after getting a break during Friday’s series opener. The 24-year-old has been a certifiable on-base machine this season, reaching safely in six straight games to boast a robust .417 on-base percentage. It’s an extremely small sample, but Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has been complimentary of his at-bats recently and appears poised to stick with him atop the lineup over Kerry Carpenter, who is hitting .160 (4-for-25) with 13 strikeouts in seven games. Star rookie Kevin McGonigle is back at shortstop and will bat second for the third time in the last four games.

The Cardinals are throwing a right-hander, so this seems like just a day off for Keith. It’s a bit unfortunate because the 24-year-old is off to a hot start and has shown some increased bat speed so far this season. Zach McKinstry will enter the starting lineup at second base and bat sixth. Hopefully, if Keith continues hitting well, the Tigers will give him fewer days off. He’s still a player we like to add in fantasy leagues right now.