Detroit Tigers: Max Clark making presence known on the backfields

Detroit Tigers first rounder Max Clark has been raking.

The Detroit Tigers selected Max Clark with the third overall pick in the 2023 MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft. The Tigers opted to bring in the outfielder with their first draft pick, a player who was revered as the top prep talent on the draft board.

When it comes to the Detroit Tigers organization, Clark may not be in the big leagues in the immediate future or any time soon, but his time with the Tigers to this point has gotten off to a roaring start, pun intended.

After handing out an under-slot signing bonus to the 18-year-old Indiana native, he was shipped off to Florida to get started on the backfields. He was assigned to the team's FCL squad to get his first taste of affiliate ball on the Florida Complex League circuit.

There's no reason to jump to any crazy conclusions or vault him up the prospect rankings because of an FCL performance, but things have certainly gone well for the youngster as he has been finding his footing and getting started with the affiliate.

But there's no reason that fans cannot be excited that he is getting off to a good start. So let's look at some of his early stats as part of the FCL Tigers roster as the summer of 2023 starts to wind down. Even though the Tigers will take their sweet ol' time with him, let's focus on the here and now.

Through his first 41 at-bats while wearing a Tigers uniform, Clark has hit .268/.348/.561 with four doubles, a triple, and two home runs with 11 RBI to his credit. He has walked five times and struck out ten times in his very early pro career.

The bat has been working for him; here's a look at the Tigers' new draftee with some open-side film from the Florida Complex League.

As mentioned before, there's no reason to jump the gun and get overly excited about any FCL stats, but it sure is exciting to see Clark getting his feet wet and finding the barrel early on. One of the things that does seem interesting was the .310 BABIP that Clark has posted to this point.

It just speaks to Clark being able to get the barrel on the ball, and when he does, he's finding ways on base. Whether it's a gap shot double or a little backside single into left center, Clark is finding barrels on the backfields, and that's something to note.

For now, Clark will finish off 2023 on a high note after being the third overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. His numbers to this point should make fans happy and leave them looking forward to what may come in the future as he continues to work through the different levels of the organization.