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Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith wins American League Rookie of the Month for July
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- Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith wins American League Rookie of the Month for July
Detroit Tigers rookie Colt Keith is already winning league awards.
Keith, a 22-year-old second baseman, was named the American League Rookie of the Month for July, after hitting .322 with seven home runs, 12 walks and 19 strikeouts across 25 games. He is the first Tiger to win Rookie of the Month since Eric Haase in July 2021 .
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Keith posted a 1.048 OPS in July.
"It feels great," said Keith, who still needs an incredible final two months to contend for AL Rookie of the Year. "Only five guys get it a year, so that's really awesome. I'm just going to keep it going and stay consistent."
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Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Monday, July 22, 2024 in Cleveland.
Keith, who signed a long-term contract before the first game of his MLB career, has thrived in his rookie season. He is hitting .250 with 11 home runs, 28 walks and 67 strikeouts across 101 games. After a slow start, Keith picked up the pace after the first week of May, stumbled in June and caught fire in July.
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Everything clicked for Keith on July 3, the beginning of a career-best eight-game hitting streak.
"I could feel my timing was good," said Keith, who hit .154 in March/April, .343 in May, .220 in June and .322 in July. "I was able to hit every pitch. I was seeing it really well. I was able to ride that out for the entirety of July."
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In July, Keith wasn't just the best AL rookie.
Keith was one of the best MLB hitters overall in July, ranking 12th among 175 qualified players with a 189 wRC+, meaning he performed 89% above league average on offense.
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The next Tiger on the leaderboard? Matt Vierling ranked 89th among the 175 players with a 109 wRC+ in July.
Keith, who carried the Tigers in July, ranked 19th in batting average (.322), 18th in on-base percentage (.404), 10th in slugging percentage (.644) and 11th in OPS (1.048). He also ranked 29th in walk rate (12.1%) and 70th in strikeout rate (19.2%).
"Most pitchers work me away, and they work me away until I can prove that I can hit it that way," Keith said, "and then they'll work in. If I'm covering the whole plate, I'll be able to hit homers on the balls in and hit base hits and doubles on the balls away. I was able to do that. ... If I can stay there and ride that out the rest of the year, I'll be able to have a pretty good season."
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Two other players received AL Rookie of the Month votes for July 2024: Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser (.329 batting average with a .911 OPS in 21 games) and New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (3.33 ERA with 33 strikeouts across 27 innings in five starts).
Keith is the seventh Tiger to win Rookie of the Month, following Justin Verlander in May 2006, Rick Porcello in May 2009, Austin Jackson in April 2010, Brennan Boesch in May and June 2010 and Haase in July 2021. The last Tiger to win Rookie of the Year: Michael Fulmer in 2016.
The Tigers selected Keith in 2020's fifth round, at No. 132 overall, out of Biloxi High School in Mississippi.
"He's making good decisions at what he's swinging at," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's hitting the ball really hard. He's getting something to show for it. He's starting to defend himself against lefties, including a couple of big swings. The league recognizing him as the Rookie of the Month is really rewarding because of where he came from at the beginning of the year to where he is now. It's really, really fun to see. I have complete confidence in him in the middle of the order."
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith wins AL Rookie of the Month for July
