LAKELAND, Fla. – Three hours before the Detroit Tigers opened the Grapefruit League season, manager A.J. Hinch stood at home plate in Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, hitting ground balls to the infielders.

He was shooting rapid-fire – ball after ball after ball.

Smack – here came a grounder between shortstop and third base.

Javier Báez fielded it with ease and hit Colt Keith right where he likes it. Chest high. Keith touched second and twisted the double play.

“It's been good,” Keith said before the New York Yankees beat the Tigers, 22-10, in a slop fest on Saturday. “I feel like I'm really healthy and my swing is coming along well. Shoulder feels good. We're really coming together as a team and starting to learn each other's tendencies. For example, me and Javy have been learning each other's throws and feeds that we like a second base.”

Playing games is important.

But all the work that’s done before the games and on the back fields is far more consequential.

All the repetition.

Smack – Hinch hit another grounder right to Keith, who flipped it to Báez.

This is how they get to know each other – Keith, the 22-year-old prospect, who is expected to debut this season at second; and Baez, the 31-year-old veteran, who is about to enter his 11^th season.

They are learning their likes and dislikes.

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“He likes to come across the bag and he likes it right here by his right pec,” Keith said, pointing to his chest. “I personally like it at my right shoulder because I can come back across second base, but it's been really good. He likes to make plays. It's really amazing.”

Smash – Hinch hit a ball to Gio Urshela at third base.

Urshela scooped it up, fired the ball to Keith, and they had another double play.

"I'm excited to watch him,” Keith said of Urshela, “and see him play and see what I can learn from him and pick his brain going forward.”

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Learning the Javy way

Smash – Hinch hit another.

Báez shuffled to his right, scooped up the ball, dropped down low, contorted his body, and side-armed flipped to Keith, who turned the double play with ease.

It was pure Báez.

Pretty as heck.

With a touch of flare.

“He's really creative,” Keith said before the Tigers played the New York Yankees. “Something I can do to learn from him is how creative he is just to make any play for any position and figure out a way to make it work.”

Yes, eventually, but not right now.

While Keith’s bat is ahead of his defense, the Tigers want Keith to focus on the routine plays.

“I've told Colt on the front end we don't need him to be perfect,” Hinch said. “We just need to be his best. There are plays that he can make. One of the things when players are questioned about their defense, they immediately want to respond by making massive plays. Big range plays. State-of-the-art double-play turns. I told him he should just focus on the basic plays and then work out bigger and bigger. Start with the plays right at you and he can make a lot of plays.”

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No signs of freaking out

Let the record show, Keith struck out in his first two at-bats of the Grapefruit season. But he didn’t freak out. Didn’t panic. And didn’t change his approach.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Keith fell into a deep hole, staring at an 0-2 count.

But he battled back, showed all kinds of discipline, taking three straight pitches, and fought the count full.

Then, he promptly doubled to left field.

This is one of the reasons why the Tigers love his talent. It’s not just the power.

He’s just a tough out.

"Most of the time, we look at their overall numbers and their results,” Hinch said. “The part that is really valuable is his ability to combine that with being a tough out. So it's not just the hits he gets. It's not just the homers – it's being a tough out. That is part of being a good hitter. He's already done that at the minor-league level. He will draw just enough walks and he will hit the ball hard. It's not, ‘Oh, he needs to hit home runs to be successful.’”

Don't rush to judgment

Having said all of that, let me offer a word of caution.

He is gonna make some errors. Everybody does.

He’s gonna struggle at times – maybe, even from the start.

But we live in a rush-to-judgment world, and that’s not exactly fair for a 22-year-old rookie.

How he starts this season will not necessarily say anything about his future.

"I've been around young players who adapt to the big leagues quickly and get Rookie of the Year,” Hinch said. “And I've been around young players who have struggled.”

So give Keith time. Don’t rush to judgment. And it’s important to be patient.

But on Saturday, he showed why he’s gonna be special.

He doesn’t freak out and he’s a tough out.

It might show up in the first month. It might not.

But I’m convinced it will eventually.

So are the Tigers.

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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colt Keith already showing signs he'll be special for Detroit Tigers