DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are calling up top prospect Max Clark to make his major-league debut, per reports.
Clark, 21, is the unanimous No. 1 prospect in the Tigers’ organization -- ranked No. 13 overall by MLB and No. 5 by Baseball America. Emily Waldon, of Baseball America, was the first to report his promotion.
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Drafted third overall by the Tigers in 2023, Clark has risen steadily through the minors, and has recently started to gain his footing at the Triple-A level.
For the season, Clark is slashing .276/.368/.434 in 90 games with the Mud Hens. He has 11 homers, 20 doubles, two triples, 21 stolen bases, 50 walks, and 66 strikeouts.
But Clark’s bat has really caught fire since mid-June. Over his past 33 games, he’s hitting .326 with seven homers, seven doubles, nine stolen bases, and nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (23).
Though Clark has had some ups and downs at the plate, he’s widely regarded as an elite defensive outfielder, and speed is his highest-ranked skill, receiving a 70 grade from MLB (on a 20-80 scale).
In his minor-league career, the lefty has stolen 74 bases and been caught just nine times across 331 games. He’s also hit 36 homers, 63 doubles, and 14 triples.
Clark joins the Tigers at a bit a tumultuous time. They just blew a seven-run lead in the seventh inning or later for the first time in 40 years, falling four games out of the final wildcard spot and spoiling what was likely the final start for Tarik Skubal in the Old English D.
Other than Riley Greene -- who’s sporting an .824 OPS and made his second-straight All Star Game -- the Tigers have gotten very little production from their outfielders.
Kerry Carpenter is on the injured list and has struggled even when healthy. Matt Vierling has a .590 OPS. Wenceel Perez and the recently traded Jahmai Jones couldn’t recapture any of last year’s magic.
James Outman has had his moments since joining the Tigers midseason, but he’s been mostly a non-factor at the plate.
The Tigers are hoping that this week’s return of Javier Baez -- who already has five hits in his first two games back -- combined with the promotion of Clark will stabilize the outfield and help them make a push toward the playoffs in a weak American League.
Only two teams in the AL -- the Rays and Yankees -- are better than five games over .500 on the season. Astoundingly, the Tigers, at 51-58, are only six games back of the third-best record in the league.
Clark joins the Tigers as they head out west for a nine-game road trip against the A’s, Mariners, and Giants.