Colt

Keith

After his hot start in April, Keith hit a woeful .217/.286/.261 in May, managing just one extra-base hit over the entire month. We’ve got a faint sign of life here, but Keith probably doesn’t belong on mixed league rosters unless we see a more prolonged spike than this.

Torkelson will undoubtedly be in there for the nightcap against left-hander Trevor Rogers and will likely make an appearance off of the bench in the first game. Dillon Dingler will function as the team’s designated hitter while Colt Keith covers first base and bats sixth against Brandon Young and the O’s.

Keith is hitting .295/.336/.357 on the season, but that’s about all we can say. His bat speed is up one mph, but it’s not where he showcased it in the first month of the season. He has a lower barrel rate and hard-hit rate than last season, and has hit no home runs with just six RBI despite hitting mostly third this season. He doesn’t need to be on many fantasy rosters.

Gage Workman is replacing him on the roster. Carpenter was hurt Saturday while running into the side wall down the right field line on Bobby Witt Jr.'s inside-the-park homer. The Tigers will probably give Colt Keith more time at DH with Carpenter out, which would open up starts for Workman at third. Wenceel Pérez is also in line for some extra at-bats as a right fielder.

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.