Road to The Show™: Tigers’ Clark

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at Tigers second-ranked prospect Max Clark, who will be spotlighted each month as a Nationwide Road to The Show "featured player" in 2024. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Although his professional career is just getting started, Max Clark has become a mainstay in Tiger Town.

Clark has had plenty of time to familiarize himself with the Tigers’ facility in Lakeland, Florida. He went there for his first days as a professional ballplayer after the Draft, made his Minor League debut in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and wrapped up the 2023 season with Single-A Lakeland, where he also opened the 2024 campaign.

Almost two months into his first full season, Clark is batting .250 with a .679 OPS and five extra-base hits. He’s drawn 23 walks, which is one of his greatest strengths as a hitter, while scoring 24 runs and swiping 10 bases.

So far as a pro, MLB Pipeline’s No. 13 overall prospect hasn’t been the same dominant force that scouts saw from him in high school and on the national showcase circuit. But at 19 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to reach the five-tool potential that many scouting directors believe he possesses.

The headlining trait for the six-foot, 205-pound outfielder is his blazing 70-grade speed, which makes him a threat both on the bases and in center field. He also has plus arm strength, even reaching 97 mph with his fastball as a pitcher in high school.

As a hitter, he has tremendous patience and ability to control the zone. He made mechanical adjustments during his final high school season to adjust his bat path to help make better use of his power, which should improve as he matures.

“He can impact the game on all sides of the ball,” amateur scouting director Mark Conner told MLB.com after the Draft. “Offensively with the hit tool, emerging power, the range and speed that he plays with on defense and the arm that he has. He’s a very exciting player.”

Clark is one of the most decorated high school prospects to come out of the Hoosier State.

He was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana for three consecutive seasons and was the Gatorade National Player of the Year following his senior season at Franklin High School.

During his Draft year, he batted .646 with six homers, 35 stolen bases and an .808 on-base percentage, which was elevated by his 52 walks in 28 games.

Clark proved to be a well-rounded athlete at Franklin H.S., playing two years of basketball and four years as a wide receiver. But baseball was very much his first sport. In August of his senior year, he played a football game Friday night and was on a plane the next morning to go to a showcase at Chase Field in Arizona.

The lefty swinger gained a lot of notoriety for his performances on the national showcase circuit. He showed off his power – using a wooden bat – during the 2022 Perfect Game showcase at Tropicana Field in Tampa and did the same at a separate event at Dodger Stadium, reportedly belting a batting practice homer 12 rows into the stands.

In the summer before his senior year, Clark starred for Team USA at the U-18 Baseball World Cup. He helped the club win a Gold Medal, providing three hits in the title game against Chinese Taipei.

Eventually, Clark committed to play baseball at Vanderbilt, but he was also viewed as a potential No. 1 overall Draft pick. He landed with the Tigers at No. 3 overall in the 2023 Draft and was the first high schooler to be selected. He signed for a below slot deal of $7.7 million and reported to Lakeland soon after.

Clark handled Rookie-level pitching well, batting .283 with a .954 OPS. He collected seven extra-base hits and walked nearly as often as he struck out. He was promoted to the Flying Tigers in August and struggled through the end of the regular season before going 4-for-12 with three walks in three playoff games against Clearwater, the eventual Florida State League champions.

During the offseason, Clark packed on some muscle and arrived to camp a month early to get reacquainted with Tiger Town. He continued to work on the mechanical adjustments to his swing and got to build relationships with some future teammates and Tigers legends.

Clark did not play in any Grapefruit League games, but he did draw a walk and steal a base in the Tigers’ Spring Breakout game against the Phillies.

The numbers might not jump off the page in the early going this season, but he’s recorded hits in nine of his past 10 games entering the week. After a lengthy stay in Florida, the Midwest boy can hit his way closer to home with a strong performance in the next few weeks ahead of the All-Star break.