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Tigers Prospect Update: Max Clark, Bryce Rainer, Josue Briceño

ByEmma Lingan|
Detroit Tigers prospect Max Clark gets ready for practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.
Detroit Tigers prospect Max Clark gets ready for practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They say there's no place like home, and that proved to be true on Wednesday night when Detroit Tigers No. 1 prospect Max Clark had the chance to play in front of family and friends in his home state of Indiana.

Leading off for High-A West Michigan on Wednesday, Clark drilled a solo shot on the fourth pitch he saw in West Michigan's 7-0 shutout victory over Fort Wayne. The 20-year-old finished the game with a pair of hits, boosting his season slash line to .310/.441/.440 and highlighting a recent hot streak that has seen him go .381/.422/.571 through 10 games during the month of May

Clark was named Indiana's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023, the same year the Tigers drafted him out of Franklin Community High School at No. 3 overall. Now in his third pro season, Clark is the No. 7 prospect in baseball (according to MLB Pipeline) and could be poised for a promotion to Double-A if he keeps playing the way he's been.

Tigers Prospect Update: Bryce Rainer, Josue Briceño climb MLB Pipeline rankings

MLB Pipeline recently updated its Top-100 Prospect Rankings, which includes Clark as well as four other Tigers prospects: infielders Kevin McGonigle (26) and Bryce Rainer (47) and catchers Josue Briceño (81) and Thayron Liranzo (86).

Rainer, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, was also tabbed by MLB Pipeline's Sam Dykstra as one of the top five prospects who appear poised to make "big leaps" in the publication's next release. Rainer is currently playing at Single-A Lakeland and, according to Dykstra, demonstrating a "level of thump [that] is hard to ignore from an age-19 shortstop." Rainer is slashing .278/.389/.458 in 90 trips to the plate across 21 games during his first pro season.

Briceño was the biggest riser among Tigers prospects in MLB Pipeline's recent Top-100 update, moving up 12 spots from No. 93 to No. 81 thanks to a scorching hot start to the 2025 campaign with High-A West Michigan. The 20-year-old also showed out in the Arizona Fall League, earning the league's Triple Crown and MVP honors.

Briceño has cooled off a bit since his 13-game hit streak in April, but he is still hitting at a solid .248/.364/.447 clip with six homers on the year, tied for the Midwest League lead. In short, things are looking good in the Tigers' minor league system.

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