Detroit Tigers First-Round Pick Ranked Among Top Five Outfield Prospects
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The MLB Pipeline lists of top prospects at each position are nearing their end, with only LHP and RHP remaining and then their top 100 list to top it off.
The most recent one to come out however was the outfield position, and Max Clark of the Detroit Tigers was among the best at the position, coming in fourth place behind only Roman Anthony, Walker Jenkins, and Dylan Crews.
Clark was selected by the Tigers with the third pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and signed with the team for a whopping $7.7 million. Despite this amount being below slot value ($8.34 million), it was still a substantial amount of money for a young prospect.
His progression through Detroit's farm system has been slow but steady, rising from the Florida Complex League to High-A since mid-2023. He struggled quite a bit in his first 11 games at the Class-A level near the end of the 2023 season. So the Tigers chose to keep him there to start off the 2024 season.
In 2024 however, things clicked for Clark, as he would go on to play 73 games with Class-A Lakeland, and in 280 at bats had .286/.386/.807 batting splits with 58 RBI, 55 runs, 26 stolen bases, seven home runs and 48 walks to 58 strikeouts. Due to his performance, he was promoted to High-A West Michigan, and continued to produce at a similar level.
As a primary center fielder, he has been absolutely exceptional in the field as well. Through 1,013 innings in the minor leagues, he had 261 putouts, eight assists, three double plays forced, and only two errors, accumulating to a .993 fielding rate which is about what you would like to see from someone looking to rise quickly to the MLB level.
MLB Pipeline lauded his speed and arm strength as some of the key reasons why he was ranked so highly, stating, "The 6-foot outfielder can really fly with plus-plus run times and regularly exceeds 30 ft/sec Sprint Speeds when in front of Statcast, as he was in the FSL. It should be no surprise that he has played center field exclusively in the pros with that speed, and his plus-plus arm strength gives him another weapon, having been recorded with an outfield throw as high as 98.1 mph."
Clark was also selected to the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2024 and was the leadoff batter for the American League team. He was tied for the most at-bats in the game of any player on either team with four, indicating the coaches on the AL team saw his potential, and despite only getting one hit in those at-bats, he also only struck out once so it was not too bad of a performance overall.
With 2024 in the rear-view mirror for Clark, he now will look ahead to 2025 where he has the opportunity to really show his growth as a prospect, and can hopefully continue to rise through the farm system as he works his way towards the higher levels.
Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.