Max Clark Made a Major Swing Change the Tigers Should Love

Max Clark unloaded his swing against José Soriano’s 97 mph sinker. He raised his gaze to see the path of his fly ball near the left-field line, unsure if the ball would land in fair territory.

The Toronto Blue Jays left fielder, Myles Straw, dove toward the line, but could not catch the fly ball. Then Clark realized that his hit was in fair territory. He ran quickly and reached second safely to record his ninth double of the season. Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler managed to score, and the Detroit Tigers went ahead 3-2.

The hit was key to erasing a two-run lead by Toronto, which had led the score since the first inning when Alejandro Kirk hit an RBI single and then George Springer scored on a wild pitch by Troy Melton.

Another double, this time by Spencer Torkelson, continued Detroit’s attack in the seventh inning and rounded out a four-run rally that put the score at 4-2.

The Blue Jays responded with three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, supported by Kazuma Okamoto’s 33rd home run, a three-run bomb against right-hander Kyle Finnegan.

The Tigers survived again and tied the score in the eighth with a single by Brett Callahan, leaving everything ready for what became the final blow at the beginning of the ninth.

With Zach McKinstry on second, Hao Yu-Lee hit a ground ball through the right side of the infield, but Louis Varland committed a fielding error while attempting to catch a throw to first from first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The ball got away and McKinstry had enough time to score the run that ultimately decided the game, 6-5.

When you look at the final Box Score, Clarke finished 1-for-4. If you keep reviewing the key moments, the quality of his at-bats and how he continues gaining confidence in himself to show his talent, you missed the best part.

Max contributed to the production of three runs: he scored one and drove in two with the aforementioned double toward the left-field line in the seventh. Those two RBIs put him with the third-highest total on the team, as he has accumulated 13 in his last 26 games. Only Greene (17) and McGonigle (17) have more RBIs, while Lee appears tied with Max over that same span.

After a complicated start in his first 14 games, Clark has made an offensive turnaround that is beginning to make interesting differences.

His wRC+ of 108 has risen to 134 in the last 26 games, with a 3.7% increase in walks and 6.5% less in his strikeout rate. If we compare both stretches, his first 14 and his last 26 games since making his MLB debut on July 31, Clark has been a very similar hitter in terms of power and success in contact.

Clark’s New Philosophy

PERIOD	G	LD%	Oppo%	Hard%	O-Swing%	O-Cont%
31/7 - 15/8	14	20.0%	22.5%	30.0%	37.5%	70.8%
16/8 - 15/9	25	26.2%	27.7%	44.6%	29.6%	75.9%

So, where has the big adjustment been that is bringing more consistency to Clark? Let’s analyze a couple of interesting details here.

The trends are clear: Clark began his renewed approach by avoiding the large load of swings he was taking. He moderated his aggressiveness and replaced it with a better selection of pitches, especially within the strike zone.

He stopped swinging 5.8%, and combined that patience with 7.9% fewer swings at pitches outside the strike zone. His hard contacts began to appear little by little with more consistency, and the ability to choose better also led to a 5.1% improvement in contact against pitches outside the zone.

The results of his plate discipline explain part of his expansion of contact, but that does not guarantee that the hits will find gaps and that Clark will have success.

Of course, the big news here is that he did, and he is managing to extend them with another crucial turning point: he is pulling less (3.5%), and hitting intelligently toward the opposite field with an increase of 5.2%. It has given him results like the key double he hit Monday night in the seventh inning to put the Tigers ahead.

But there is more, as you can appreciate in the table: his hard-hit balls have increased by 14.6% and the line drives by 6.2% compared with his first 14 games.

His power continues to be practically the same, but in the last 26 games he is demonstrating more frequently that he can contain his aggressiveness and choose better pitches to get quality at-bats.

At 21 years old, Clark is beginning to show interesting signs of what he can bring to the game along with his ability to adjust. So it only remains to keep watching how he performs in this final stretch of the season under pressure.

There are a couple of metrics that I love about his swing, and I know it is still very early to evaluate the samples, but his adjustment against fastballs and changeups caught my attention powerfully.

A New Hitting Philosophy

Detroit Tigers center fielder Max Clark. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In his first 14 games, his whiff rate was 11.3% against fastballs, but in the last 26 games it has nearly halved to 6.4%. His Perfect Contact rate was at 19% and rose to 32%, but the most notable change has come against changeups.

I investigated the two stretches in StatCast and I really could not believe it. Clark kept his Lined Up rate almost intact, rising only from 59% to 60%. The impressive thing has been his Perfect Contact, improving from 6% to 35%.

What I understand here is not only the influence of his discipline, but also the ability to identify pitches and manage to be on time to begin hitting the changeups better that were affecting his timing so much.

Yes, the kid has great talent. And I love seeing the evolution of these young players, their ability to make adjustments and showcase their talent. Definitely, the game is in good hands, and whatever the result this year, the momentum of talented players like Clark could make Detroit’s roster more competitive again in the future.

All statistics were verified using Statcast from Baseball Savant.

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