How Tigers' Colt Keith stopped shaving and tapped into his potential

DETROIT The beard began only a few days ago inside Clevelands visiting clubhouse.

Thats when Colt Keith started shaving his neck.

Disappointed with the subpar quality of the disposable razor, he aborted the mission midshave.

I just lined it up, and then I was lazy and didnt shave it, Keith said.

Advertisement Monday in his first game back in Detroit, Keith happened to notch three hits, all to the pull side.

A hitter who has been trusting his swing and resisting the urge to fight for more power bashed two doubles and a home run in that nights victory against the Rays.

Now (the beard) is staying until I get out again, until I have a bad game, Keith said afterward.

Keith did get out Tuesday, punching on three pitches in his first at-bat against Ryan Pepiot.

But the stubble will get a chance to keep growing.

He walked in the third, slapped an RBI single to the opposite side in the fifth and then walloped a go-ahead home run to right in the seventh inning as the Tigers beat the Rays 4-2.

After that first strikeout, it was really tempting to just go out there and swing harder, but I just stayed within myself, Keith said.

Its worked for a couple weeks now.

I just got to trust that its gonna keep working and that my best swing is when Im swinging easy.

CHIEF KEITH pic.twitter.com/dAObx9TUpb Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 9, 2025 The shaving superstition is working so far this week.

The short beard, Keith says, is already the longest of his life.

Its starting to get itchy.

If it produces hits, Ill take it, Keith said.

Ill leave it there all year.

In reality, Keith has been hot for a prolonged stretch, hitting .306 since May 1 and batting .478 in his last seven games.

And thats where the swinging easy factor comes into play.

The recipient of a pre-debut contract extension, Keith has been entrusted with faith from the Tigers and the expectations that come with it.

During the low points of his brief major-league career, Keith has at times worn the stresses of struggle on his normally smooth face.

Sometimes the tension seeped into his body language and seemed to stiffen his movements at the plate.

Advertisement Theres been a particular fixation from the outside on his inability to pull the ball in the air.

Thats been a battle for Keith at various times in his journey up through the minors.

It was evident last season, when Keith elevated the ball to right field only 14 percent of the time.

And it was just as glaring this spring, when Keith was hitting balls hard but rarely tapping into extra-base power despite his chiseled build.

After finally finding his rhythm last summer, Keith entered this year with high hopes.

But his sophomore MLB season got off to a brutal start.

He was hitting .171 through his first 70 at-bats and at one point admitted his confidence had plummeted.

My heartbeat has been so high my whole big-league career, Keith said.

Ive been just fighting to get that down.

So it makes sense.

A tight muscle is a slow muscle, as they say.

Rather than chase power, instead of hoping a few mighty swings could erase a month of trouble at the plate, Keith did the opposite.

He trusted his hands.

Slowly found his timing.

Went in the lab to make sure his mechanics were in sync.

His hot streak started quietly.

But as he stayed loose, the hits just kept coming.

Ive been swinging like 70, 75 percent and just trying to be short to the ball, and thats enabled me to get the barrel more in front of the plate, Keith said.

Kind of like, Oh, I want to pull the ball, swing harder, less results.

Swing easier, I just try to be a hitter first, and hits are falling for me the last couple of days.

Now we are into July.

Keith has boosted his average to .269 and his OPS to .800.

Hes still displayed his natural hitting aptitude, like in the fifth inning Tuesday, when he was waiting for a fastball in an 0-1 count.

Pepiot instead threw a changeup.

Keith was initially fooled, but he threw his hands at the ball, pool-cued a line drive to left field and brought home a run.

Advertisement Since my hands were loose, I was able to just shoot it over there, Keith said.

It feels like myself.

Me as a hitter, I was able to do that all through the minor leagues.

So its refreshing to feel that again.

Then in the seventh, we saw the power for the second night in a row.

Monday, Keith homered on a 95 mph fastball up and in.

Tuesday, he smashed a changeup over the plate to turn a tie game into a 4-2 victory.

They were two different swings generated with the same approach.

They both produced the best possible outcome.

The power is starting to come.

He is a complete hitter, and he doesnt have to be perfect to do it, Tigers manager A.J.

Hinch said.

Keith does not turn 24 until August.

Here at the apex of a hot streak, Keith is hitting leadoff for a team with the best record in the league.

His walk rate and pitch selection have improved.

His defensive repertoire has expanded to include first base, second base and third base.

His return to third, where he played before a shoulder injury in the minor leagues, could even lessen the urgency for the Tigers to find outside options at the trade deadline.

I also think we need to remember that hes still scratching the surface of who hes going to be and what hes going to be at this level, Hinch said.

We showed some patience with him over the last couple of seasons as hes tried to figure it out.

Thats the real takeaway.

Homers or singles, beard or clean-shaven, Keith is still learning in real time.

The latest lesson: Sometimes the best results come when you stop trying to force it, when you trust your gifts and trust your work and let things fall into place.

Obviously baseball is full of ups and downs, Keith said, so Im trying to ride this high as long as I can.

(Photo: Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.