AJ Hinch moves Colt Keith and Kevin McGonigle up in the order

Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Colt Keith (33) gets ready to hit against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Kerry Carpenter has been in a pretty rough place this spring. After a fairly good, but again injury plagued 2025 season, the Tigers’ right fielder and designated hitter came into camp looking to put together a more consistent 2026 and hopefully finally banish the back and hamstring injuries that have nagged at him for much of his career.

He seems healthy, but he just hasn’t been seeing the ball well this spring. With 10 strikeouts through four games, manager A. J.

Hinch has at least temporarily pulled the plug on the leadoff experiment. The lineup on Tuesday night features Colt Keith leading off and playing third base, and this is a fairly interesting development. Keith has always controlled the strike zone pretty well, taking his share of walks and keeping his strikeouts to league average or better levels.

Meanwhile, his contact showed signs of improvement last summer that have carried over in the early going. An estimated 416 foot double off Mike Soroka in Monday night’s game was the latest sign that Keith is seeing the ball well and starting to get off more A-swings to take advantage of his plus raw power. Meanwhile, teams are already scared of Kevin McGonigle, quickly backing away from throwing him fastballs in the zone, and the rookie now moves to the two-hole in tonight’s lineup.