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Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects for 2024: #3 Max Clark

Detroit Tigers first round pick from 2023, Max Clark, comes in at third overall on our countdown of Tigers prospects ahead of the 2024 season.

By Tyler Kotila |
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It's time to get down to the nitty-gritty. We started with 30 prospects to cover in our countdown of the Top 30 prospects. We've continued to cross names off and rattle off reports down to the Top 20, Top 10, Top 5, and now Top 3. Max Clark, the Detroit Tigers' first-round pick from the 2023 MLB Draft is at third on our countdown.

The Detroit Tigers went out and selected Max Clark with the third overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, selecting him as the first prep player off the board. The Franklin, Indiana native was heralded on the prep scene and was expected to be one of the first prep players off the board last summer.

He ended up being the first prep player off the board, and the Tigers have high hopes for the left-handed hitting outfielder. He's got a high ceiling with plenty of development left in the tank. He's got some time before he gets to the big leagues and gets his crack at big-league spring training, but for now, he's in Lakeland preparing for his first full season with the Tigers organization.

This summer will be a good gauge of where Clark falls in with the organization. He's an outfielder, no doubt, but it will be good to see how the bat plays in affiliate ball, off the backfields, getting him into the organization's different levels, and seeing how his development goes. For now, he's third on our countdown of the Top 30 prospects, so let's dig into the Indiana native's profile.

Detroit Tigers 2023 draftee Max Clark is third on the Top 30 list.

Detroit Tigers prospect Max Clark's frame & stance

Clark is a 6-1, 205-pound build. It's a lean and athletic frame that oozes twitch/athleticism throughout. He's shown strength throughout. I'm not sure there's a ton of room to add in more physicality; it feels like a pretty maxed build in terms of what he's capable of, given the profile.

The fast & twitchy outfielder with a ton of athleticism that he is is good. Putting on more weight, even in muscle mass, could affect that twitch, and it feels like the Tigers are going to aim to develop him as that type of outfielder if the muscle mass continues to come naturally as he matures since he is only 19, then so be it.

In the box, he's changed some things around in his stance. The new and improved Max Clark stance from the left side looks buttery smooth. He looks to have slightly widened up the feet in the lower half, with a more spread base with a pretty locked torso. He stacks well as he loads before rotating hard but is not overly rotational through the swing.

The hands are higher with the back elbow up and the barrel wrapped. He lifts the leg with a big hanging leg lift trigger. It allows him to set over that backside and then explode through contact. He has been a bit "launch-driven" at times, getting too uphill through contact.

But this new swing he's worked on has been shorter and direct with the barrel and less of a launch-angle path but more of a path that creates loft in the swing. There's tons to like with this new swing change, even coming from myself, someone who's been critical of Clark to this point.

Defense

It's pretty straightforward in terms of defense. It's a premium operation in the outfield. He has a feel for the spot, being able to run balls down like nobody's business. It was jokingly labeled as "Platinum Glove" upside by some colleagues with Perfect Game, but seriously, it's impressive defense.

He has the athleticism and range to stick in centerfield; it'll be more of a question if he plays better in right field with a cannon for an arm. He was throwing into the low 90s off the mound during his prep days, so the arm speed and strength are there. Pair that with a 6.33 60-yard dash and 4.02 home-to-first times, and it's easy to see the upside in the outfield with Clark.

2023 Stats

After being drafted, it was a quick turnaround for Clark, who was shipped off to Lakeland to get his career started with the Tigers. Clark was able to head down to Lakeland and get acclimated before finding himself thrown into the fire on the backfields.

He managed to play in 12 games for the FSL Complex League affiliate on the backfields. Clark also logged 11 games for the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers as well. His 23-game stint last summer saw him total 85 at-bats in his debut. He slashed .224/.383/.376 with five doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 19 RBI.

He walked 21 times and struck out 25 times for the Tigers, likely making Scott Harris proud, given his philosophy of working the counts that he's piloted since coming to Detroit. Now, in 2024, Clark is looking to make some more noise, and the swing change could be a reason for him to do so.

Max Clark's future outlook with the Detroit Tigers

For Clark, there's a real high ceiling here. I've been overly critical of Clark and will admit that. I'll own that I was quite displeased when the Tigers left Wyatt Langford on the board at 1-3 last year, opting to select Clark. While Langford may not have fit the narrative and trajectory of the Tigers, it felt like that was the right pick.

Besides that point, I've been overly critical of Clark in the past, but there's no denying that there are tools here. Clark is a fantastic prospect with a plethora of upside. He will be a premium defender who can stick in a big-league outfield for a long time. The athleticism certainly helps carry the upside of this profile.

For Meadows, it's going to be about the bat. He has made some changes to his swing, and it'll be interesting to see what that means this summer in his first full season in Detroit. There's always been an overwhelmingly high-power projection with Clark, and while I want to buy it, I'm not there yet.

Clark has a chance to be special in Detroit, but this year will be a big tell as to what that future might be. That being said, I'm sort of deferring the future outlook grade for this prospect report. He will be a big leaguer for Detroit and be special; it's just a question of how special.

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