A Detroit Tigers Prospect is Raking at High-A, and It's Not Max Clark

Clark is a top-five prospect in the sport, but it's Josue Briceno that's making noise right now for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Detroit Tigers prospect Josue Briceño bats at practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Max Clark is the Detroit Tigers top prospect at just the age of 20. The outfielder is hitting a robust .313 at High-A West Michigan thus far, and he's posting a .452 on-base percentage. He's also the No. 3 prospect in the game. And as good as that is, he's not the only one turning heads for that affiliate.

Josue Briceno, who is ranked as the No. 89 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, connected on his sixth home run on Friday, which puts him in a tie for the league-lead in the Northwest League.

He is the No. 5 prospect in a well-regarded Tigers system. He's both a catcher and a first baseman, but he missed more than three months with a knee injury last season, so it's not known just how much the organization wants to see him catching moving forward. Also just 20 years old, he's projected to make his major league debut in 2027.

He's hitting .238 with a .344 on-base percentage. He has 24 RBIs to go along with his six home runs.

Yes way Josue!@tigers No. 5 prospect Josue Briceño ties for the Midwest League HR lead with his sixth blast of season for the High-A @wmwhitecaps. pic.twitter.com/6Uq1ISpIaQ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 10, 2025

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

His defense remains an open question. Briceño was considered below average behind the dish before the injury, and to protect the knee, the Tigers kept him out of the squat with time at first base in Lakeland and Arizona. He’s still rough around the edges at the cold corner, where many believe he’ll eventually land full-time. But Briceño’s offensive gains have caught the attention of scouts across the industry and make him a must-follow in 2025.

At the big-league level, the Tigers will play the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Detroit owns the best record in the American League at 26-13.

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