BY DETROIT SPORTS MEDIA ASSOCIATION
DETROIT – Following a standout rookie season in 2024, Detroit Tigers infielderColt Keith has been voted Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Media Association.
Keith, the club’s fifth round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, played an everyday role in helping propel the Tigers back to the postseason for the first time since 2014. He finished the season slashing .260/.309/.380 with a team-leading 35 multi-hit games, which was tied for the most among American League rookies. Keith totaled 15 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 61 RBI across 148 games in 2024.
His overall numbers are even more impressive when taking into account a tough start to his rookie campaign, posting a .387 OPS over 99 plate appearances in March and April. From May 8 through the end of the regular season, he ranked fourth among Major League rookies (min. 200 plate appearances) with a .284 batting average, 118 hits, and 178 total bases, while he was fifth with 53 RBI.
During the season he was also voted American League Rookie of the Month for July. In 25 games played during the month, he hit .322/.404/.644 with a double, three triples, seven home runs, and 17 RBI. Among all American League players over that span, he ranked tied for seventh in home runs, ninth in total bases (56), and 10th in slugging percentage.
Keith became Detroit’s second rookie since 1988 to log 130-or-more hits, 30-or-more extra-base hits and 60-or-more RBI in a season, joining Nick Castellanos in 2014. His 1.8 fWAR in 2024 ranked as the fifth-most in a season by a Tigers rookie since 2000.
The Detroit Sports Media Association has named a Tigers Rookie of the Year each season dating back to 1969, with Tyler Holton earning the honor in 2023.
