May 3, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter Colt Keith (33) singles against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Angel Stadium. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

It has been a great start to the season for the Detroit Tigers who are coming off a nice series win on the West Coast.

As the year rolls on the for the Tigers, they are continuing to prove their legitimacy in the American League.

While this was a team that saw a ton of success in 2024, they, for the most part, played above their heads.

However, this winter, the front office made it a priority to help this team get better in a couple key areas of weakness, and the results have been good.

In the starting rotation, coupled with the development of a couple young arms and the reigning AL Cy Young, the addition of Jack Flaherty has helped immensely. The reunion with the veteran right-hander has provided them with an excellent sidekick in the rotation to Tarik Skubal.

While the rotation and bullpen have improved quite a bit from offseason moves, the lineup continues to be a little lacking for Detroit. One of the reasons why has been the underperformance of a player they have high hopes for.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the struggles of Colt Keith this season and perhaps the signing of Gleyber Torres this winter messing with the young slugger a bit.

“Of all the areas where they could have upgraded a bat, they picked the spot where Keith surely felt like he had proven himself over the latter 4.5 months of last year.”

This offseason, the plan for Detroit seemed to be rather clear in the infield after the team signed Gleyber Torres. The Tigers were going to start Torres at second base and move their promising slugger Keith to first base.

However, the spring for Spencer Torkelson dramatically changed what the lineup was planning to look like.

Detroit had a massive need for a power right-handed hitter in the middle of the order and the former first-overall pick has finally shown up.

Perhaps due to bouncing around a bit positionally, Keith is off to a slow start in 2025. So far, he has slashed .173/.316/.272 with just two home runs through 31 games.

Keith was a slow starter last season as well but did end up finishing with a solid overall campaign.

However, as the Tigers start to get healthier, there might not be a clear spot for the 23-year-old if Torres and Torkelson continue to outperform him at the plate.

With what appears to be an elite pitching staff, Detroit needs to have thei