Tigers’ Max Clark Had Amusing Reaction to Pirates Prospect’s Incredible Fastball

Detroit's spring breakout game gave Tigers prospects the opportunity to size themselves up against the top prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system. It also led to a rather amusing moment between two of the top prospects in baseball.

Part of the charm of these games is that top hitting prospects face top pitching prospects in matchups that could be seen in the Major Leagues one day. During Friday's game, Tigers slugger Max Clark kept in the batter’s box against Pirates pitcher Seth Hernandez.

What happened next surprised everyone, including Clark.

Max Clark vs. Seth Hernandez

We're all Max Clark right now 😮

Seth Hernandez dials it up to 102 MPH on the very first pitch of the game! #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/hQ4kPXewop
— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2026

During his at-bat, Clark took a fastball from Hernandez that was high and out of the zone. But the radar gun registered a velocity that was also most too fast to believe — 102 mph. Clark didn’t seem shocked, but his reaction seemed like something along the lines of, “OK, now that’s fast.”

Clark batted leadoff and Hernandez was the starting pitcher, so both were amped up. That 102.4 mph cutter — the official velocity — was the first pitch Hernandez threw. He had plenty more in the tank. He threw a 101.1 mph four-seam fastball after that. Two pitches later, he tossed a 100.3 mph slider, followed by a 101.5 mph four-seamer and a 102.2 mph sinker.

Clark hit one pitch and fouled it off. Hernandez’s control wasn’t great and he walked Clark on six pitches. But the velocity was real.

It’s of little surprise that both are among the top prospects in baseball. MLB Pipeline ranks Hernandez at No. 29 and Clark at No. 10. While Hernandez is 19 years old and assigned to rookie ball, Clark has an outside chance of taking a bow this season in Detroit as an outfielder, depending on how things go in the minor leagues.

Clark was in Major League spring training with the Tigers and slashed .111/.200/.111 in 10 games with an RBI. But 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.

Clark was taken No. 3 overall in 2023 out of Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Ind. His progress in the minor leagues has been so exciting that he had to remind social media users last spring that, at the time, he hadn’t even played games above High-A West Michigan.

Before 2025, he slashed a combined .279/.372/.421 with nine home runs and 75 RBI. He also stole 29 bases.