Max Clark Heaps Enormous Praise on Fellow Tigers Prospect Kevin McGonigle

In many ways, Detroit Tigers prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark are joined at the hip.

According to MLB Pipeline the duo are the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects in the organization. Both are considered Top 100 prospects overall, with McGonigle ranked No. 2. Both had been teammates at the same minor league affiliates the past two seasons. Both were selected in the first two rounds of their respective drafts.

But it's McGonigle, and not Clark, that might just make the Tigers’ opening day roster on Friday in San Diego.

There’s no jealousy on Clark’s part. Just a player that heaped praise on his minor-league teammate when asked about McGonigle’s chances of making the team, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X (formerly Twitter).

Max Clark on Kevin McGonigle

Clark knows it’s coming. He knows his buddy is going to play in the Majors. He’s sure of it. If you ask him, in some ways it could have happened “yesterday.”

“I'm always supporting my guy,” Clark said. “There's no better kid. There's no more humble man. He deserves it, whether it's now, whether it's in a month, whether it's in six months, whether it was yesterday. That kid is going to put his best foot forward. That kid is going to continue to dominate the game. And if he can't find the answer to a solution, he's going to work his a** off to figure it out. I can promise you that. You watch now and the veteran guys are starting to throw more innings. Like [Chris] Bassett went six the other day. Watching him compete against guys that have eight, 10, 12 years, like [Max] Scherzer the other day. That's cool. The kid is 21 years old, and he's putting up quality at bats. The process is there. You can't really dig into the results that much. He's gonna bang.”

McGonigle’s numbers include a slash of .250/.423/.500 with two home runs and six RBI in spring training. But he showed range at multiple defensive positions. He’s gotten praise from others, including manager A.J. Hinch, for the quality of his at-bats. The fact that the Tigers have yet to be assign him to minor league camp as the Tigers prepare for two exhibition games with the Rockies in Arizona on Monday and Tuesday speaks volumes.

As for Clark, he’ll get there eventually. He was in spring training with the Tigers and slashed .111/.200/.111 in 10 games with an RBI. He’s coming off a 2025 season at High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie where he slashed .271/.403/.432 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI. It’s possible he could start the year back at Erie, where he only played in 44 games, before heading to Triple-A Toledo. But he’s a future star — just like McGonigle.