COLUMBUS, Ohio — Before the most important Detroit Tigers prospect hit a jaw-dropping, monster home run.
Before getting on base five times.
Before knocking in two runs.
Before the Columbus Clippers got so sick of Keith doing damage, they intentionally walked him in the 10th inning — the ultimate sign of respect.
Before any of that, Colt Keith was on the field warming up, getting ready to make his debut with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night, when he heard a familiar voice.
“Colt!” a dude wearing a colt head screamed from the stands. “Colt! What’s up!”
Keith turned and saw Rusty King, his elementary school wrestling coach, wearing a giant horse head.
“You gotta bring it!” King said.
Keith walked over to the fence and they talked.
The young prospect and, um, the horse head.
“It’s time to go!” King said, still wearing the horse head.
Keith just laughed and shook his head.
King, a close family friend, has long flowing hair and he vows not to cut it until Keith makes the major leagues.
“I’ve been growing it since he was drafted,” King said. “Once he makes it to the Tigers, he gets to shave my head. He’s going to cut it the night before.”
For Tigers fans, that can’t happen soon enough. Keith is just 21 years old but he was promoted to Toledo after absolutely raking at Double-A Erie.
A large group of Keith’s family and friends were up on the concourse, waiting to take their seats.
Kaitlyn Vickers, Keith’s fiancée, wore a blue jeans jacket with a hand painted image of Keith, swinging a bat, wearing a Tigers uniform.
You sensing a theme, here?
Not to look too far ahead, but, um, it’s hard not to look ahead.
Keith finished warming up, looked up at the stands and let a sigh.
“I know he’s gonna be a little nervous,” King said. “I did it just to take the edge off.”
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The Keith family is from outside Cleveland and more than 50 family, friends, former teammates and coaches are expected to watch him play this week.
His grand arrival at Triple-A is really a grand homecoming in Columbus.
No pressure, kid. Just go do something special.
And then, he did, of course.
Keith went 3-for-4 with a homer and was walked twice.
“I felt comfortable,” Keith said after the game, after signing autographs and posing for pictures with friends and family.
It just came so easy to him.
A monster home run
In his first at bat for Toledo, after jumping up a level, which should be, presumably, harder, Keith made it look easier, jacking a home run to center field.
It was one of those shots that only special players hit — and it traveled an estimated 425 feet.
“I didn’t see it,” said Tarik Skubal, who was making a rehab start. “But I heard it. How old is that kid?”
“Twenty-one,” I said.
“That was a grown-ass man homer,” Skubal said.
Even his new teammates were caught up in the moment. “Thank God we called up that guy!” somebody said in the Toledo dugout.
As Keith rounded the bases, he pointed at his family and friends.
Best of all?
It came on an off-speed pitch.
That’s an area that he feels he has improved the most.
“What did you learn at Erie?” I asked him.
“I learned a lot about pitch sequencing,” Keith said. “You know, how guys are going to pitch me. How they see my strengths and weaknesses, and how they pitch around that. I learned how to hit off-speed a lot; and you know, obviously I learned a lot on defense and got better there.”
He has impressed, not just on the field, but off.
“Phenomenal kid,” said Greg Gania, the Erie SeaWolves broadcaster. “He was so easy to deal with given his status as a top prospect. Always went out of his way to say hello to me and my broadcast partner every day.”
Gania has seen his share of hotshot prospects after calling more than 2,500 games in the minors.
“He’s also such a hard worker on the field,” Gania said. “Every day, and I mean every day, he wanted (Erie manager Gabe Alvarez) to hit him extra ground balls.”
Before Erie clinched the first-half playoff spot in the Eastern League’s Southwest Division, Gania was given an unusual task.
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“He doesn’t drink alcohol,” Gania said, of Keith. “We have a few guys like that. So our trainer asked me to pick up sparkling cider and root beer for Colt and (Gage) Workman. … He was just so appreciative that I would make the extra trip after buying all the champagne and beer.”
During a wild, champagned soaked celebration, Keith shotgunned a root beer.
Now, don’t pass lightly over that fact.
Because it says everything you need to know about how he is approaching this.
Keith doesn’t drink alcohol because he knows he has been given a gift. He knows he has this amazing opportunity. And he doesn’t want to waste it. It’s a direct reflection of how seriously he takes this game. And how much he respects his parents for all the sacrifices they have made to get him to this spot.
“He buys in because he knows the sacrifice we’ve made for him,” Troy Keith, Colt’s father, said. “He’s like, I can’t throw that away by drinking beer every night, or chasing women. He understands that’s not what I’m here for.”
It’s hard not to like this kid on every level.
He is the Tigers’ TOP prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and he is headed to the MLB All-Star Futures Game on July 8 in Seattle.
“It was another goal,” he said.
But still needs to improve his D
Keith injured his throwing shoulder earlier this season, diving for a ball.
“Just a bruise,” he said.
But he healed up quickly and is completely cleared now.
He started at second base on Wednesday and Nick Maton, who was recently demoted from the Tigers, started at third. Keith said he expects to split time between second and third.
“Half and half,” he said. “I like second a lot. It’s a shorter throw. It’s a lot more time, less panic. I just gotta keep on working on moving around the bag, turning double plays, stuff like that. But you know, it’s just getting better there every day getting reps.”
“How much have you played second in your life?” I asked.
“Not very much,” he said. “I’ve mostly played third.”
It wasn’t a perfect night.
Keith had a throwing error in the seventh, while trying to turn a double play. It’s an area that he admits he has to work on.
But he’s learning on the fly.
Learning one step from the big leagues.
“I haven’t put a lot of emphasis on defense until I got the pro ball,” he said before the game. “Because I was pitching. So you know, it’s just getting reps. Just keep on getting better with my footwork and my mobility and just the feel for the game. I feel good out there. I don’t know about what the numbers say but I feel really good.”
His bat looks MLB ready right now.
But the Tigers want to see him grow defensively.
“Overall, just as an infielder, I’ve gotten a lot better,” Keith said. “I mean, I’ve taken countless reps. I gotta keep on getting better. Keep on working on lateral quickness, backhands, making throws on the run stuff like that. And I you know, it’s coming to me pretty quick. I feel like most of my errors have been throwing and for me, that’s a big step. It’s always been the glove for me.”
Yes, there is more work to do. Things he can improve. Areas to polish.
But man, this kid is talented. There’s no doubt, he’s special.
Long after the game ended, Keith was still on the field, talking with friends, signing autographs for kids and posing for pictures with his fiancée.
“Thanks for coming!” Keith said, to the crowd.
He turned and walked to the clubhouse.
What a debut.
Here’s my prediction: He’s going to force his way to Detroit.
Sooner rather than later.
Because the dude with the horse head needs a haircut.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.