Max Clark (baseball)

Max Clark
Clark with Team USA in 2023
Detroit Tigers – No. 15
Outfielder
Born: (2004-12-21) December 21, 2004
Franklin, Indiana, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 31, 2026, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through August 24, 2026)
Batting average.244
Home runs1
Runs batted in10
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
U-18 Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place2022 Sarasota-BradentonTeam

Maxwell Reece Clark (born December 21, 2004) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Clark was selected with the third overall pick by the Tigers in the 2023 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2026.

Amateur career

Clark began playing baseball as a child in his local Little League before he began playing travel baseball with Franklin Powerhouse and later with the Indiana Bulls, an Indiana travel team featuring alumni such as Scott Rolen, Tucker Barnhart, and Lance Lynn.[1] He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University.[2]

Clark attended Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Indiana, where he played on their baseball team as an outfielder and pitcher.[3][4] He also played on their football team as a wide receiver.[5] As a sophomore in 2021, he was named the Indiana Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after batting .450 with six home runs, thirty RBIs, and 31 stolen bases alongside pitching to a 0.84 ERA and 120 strikeouts over fifty innings.[6][7] As a junior on the football field, he caught 25 passes for 547 yards and four touchdowns.[5]

During his junior year on the baseball team, he batted .577 with nine home runs, 32 RBIs, 31 walks, and 22 stolen bases and was named the Indiana Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the second straight season.[8][9] That summer, he participated in the Prospect Development Pipeline League at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.[10] He also played for Team USA in the 2021 WBSC U-18 World Cup, helping lead the team to a gold medal with a .294 batting average over eight games, and played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Chase Field.[11][12]

Clark entered his senior year as the top high school draft prospect for the upcoming MLB draft.[13][14] He finished his senior year batting .646 with six home runs, 33 RBIs, and 45 runs scored, and was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.[15][16] He was also awarded the Gatorade Best Player of the Year, as the best high school athlete regardless of sport, joining past winners such as Kyler Murray, Bobby Witt Jr. and LeBron James.[17]

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Detroit Tigers selected Clark in the first round, with the third overall pick, in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[18] On July 17, 2023, Clark signed with the Tigers for a $7.7 million signing bonus.[19][20]

On July 29, Clark was assigned to the Florida Complex League Tigers, where he made his professional debut against the FCL Yankees, going 1-for-4 with a triple.[21] In his next game on August 1, he hit his first professional home run against the FCL Blue Jays. On August 24, he was promoted to the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers. In 23 games between the two teams, Clark batted .224/.383/.376 with two home runs and 19 RBI.[22]

Clark was assigned to Lakeland to begin the 2024 season.[23] He and Hao-Yu Lee were selected to represent the Tigers in the All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field.[24] On July 21, Clark was promoted to the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps after batting .286/.386/.421 with seven home runs and 26 stolen bases in 73 games with Lakeland. In 34 games with West Michigan, Clark batted .264 with two home runs, 17 RBI, and ten doubles.[25][26]

Clark returned to West Michigan to begin the 2025 season.[27] He was selected, alongside Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceño, to represent the Tigers in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game at Truist Park.[28] On July 7, it was announced that they had been promoted to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.[29] In 111 games, Clark batted .272 with 14 home runs, 67 RBI, and 19 stolen bases.[30]

Clark was assigned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to begin the 2026 season.[31] In 90 games, he batted .276 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, 20 doubles, two triples, and 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts.

Detroit Tigers

On July 31, 2026, Matt Vierling was placed on the 10-day injured list, and the Detroit Tigers selected Clark's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time before their series opener against the Athletics.[32][33] He was assigned number 15, which had most recently been worn by Zack Short earlier in the season.[34] In his MLB debut, Clark started in center field and batted seventh in the lineup.[35] He drew a walk in his first plate appearance before recording a single against Jeffrey Springs in his first official at-bat in the fourth inning.[36] He finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in a 13–1 victory.[37] He became the fourth Tigers player to record at least three hits in his major league debut, joining teammate Kevin McGonigle, who recorded four hits in his debut earlier that season.[38] In his next game on August 1, Clark hit his first career home run, a two-run homer off Jack Perkins, and finished 2-for-5 in the victory.[39]

References

  1. ↑ Glaspie, Akeem (May 20, 2021). "From hitting balls into a cornfield to a 95 mph fastball, Franklin sophomore is a phenom". The Indianapolis Star.
  2. ↑ Glaspie, Akeem (March 29, 2022). "IHSAA baseball: 2022 IndyStar preseason Super Team features big bats, speed, high velocity". The Indianapolis Star.
  3. ↑ "With golden locks and strength for days, Max Clark says baseball is in his blood". Yahoo!. March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2025 – via The Indianapolis Star.
  4. ↑ Glaspie, Akeem (March 30, 2022). "How Max Clark built himself into nation's No. 2 prospect: 'It takes a lot to be great.'". The Indianapolis Star.
  5. 1 2 Glaspie, Akeem (September 30, 2022). "Max Clark could be the No. 1 pick in 2023 MLB draft, but he isn't quitting football yet". The Indianapolis Star.
  6. ↑ Beas, Mike (June 30, 2021). "Franklin sophomore named Indiana Gatorade baseball Player of the Year".
  7. ↑ Staff REPORT (June 29, 2021). "Franklin sophomore named Gatorade Indiana Baseball Player of the Year". Shelby News.
  8. ↑ "Max Clark 2021 - 2022 INDIANA BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
  9. ↑ Cooper, J. J. (July 25, 2022). "Max Clark's Five-Tool Skill Set Makes Him The Real Deal". www.baseballamerica.com.
  10. ↑ "Clark, Jenkins discuss PDP League, Team USA and more". MLB.com.
  11. ↑ Glaspie, Akeem (September 30, 2022). "He once got cut from Team USA. Now Franklin's Max Clark is hitting bombs and winning gold". The Indianapolis Star.
  12. ↑ Gregg Doyel (August 27, 2022). "Doyel: Franklin's Max Clark has Grizzly Cubs football today, MLB cash tomorrow". The Indianapolis Star.
  13. ↑ Ward, Tom. "Max Clark, Aidan Miller And Their Generation Will Solve MLB's Social Media Problem". Forbes.
  14. ↑ "Top 20 high school prospects for '23 Draft". MLB.com.
  15. ↑ "Franklin OF Max Clark wins Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year Award". The Indianapolis Star.
  16. ↑ "Indiana's best prospect in decades: Max Clark picked No. 3 in MLB draft". The Indianapolis Star.
  17. ↑ "Max Clark, Ava Brown Win Gatorade Player of the Year Honors". USA Today. July 12, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Detroit Tigers select high school outfielder Max Clark with No. 3 pick in 2023 MLB draft". Detroit Free Press.
  19. ↑ "Tigers signs Max Clark". The Detroit News.
  20. ↑ "2023 MLB Draft: First Round". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Max Clark Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News".
  22. ↑ "No. 3 overall pick Clark drills walk-off homer in Complex League". MLB.com.
  23. ↑ "Where the Guardians' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  24. ↑ Petzold, Evan (July 2, 2024). "Detroit Tigers prospects Max Clark, Hao-Yu Lee on Futures Game roster". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Detroit Tigers prospects Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle called up to High-A West Michigan".
  26. ↑ "Franklin's Max Clark back in the Midwest to continue pro journey". September 13, 2024.
  27. ↑ Van Doren, Kenny (April 6, 2025). "Tigers prospect Max Clark hits first homer of 2025 season". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Top prospects Clark, McGonigle, Briceño off to Futures Game". milb.com (in Spanish). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Mighty Tigers prospects McGonigle, Clark and Briceño moving up to Double-A together". mlb.com (in Spanish). Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  30. ↑ Horner, Scott. "Why Franklin High School star could be baseball's next 'five-tool centerfield star'". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  31. ↑ Paul, Tony. "Max Clark, Detroit Tigers prospect, is making progress on the field and in tuning out critics". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Transactions". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  33. ↑ McCosky, Chris. "Tigers' Max Clark to make MLB debut against Athletics". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Uniform Numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Tigers' Top prospect Max Clark -- No. 13 overall -- set for MLB Debut". MLB.com. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  36. ↑ Windsor, Shawn. "Epic Max Clark debut sparks Detroit Tigers to road rout of Athletics". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  37. ↑ Stavenhagen, Cody (August 1, 2026). "Max Clark shines in MLB debut as Tigers face sell-off at trade deadline". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Tigers prospect Max Clark records 3 hits, RBI in MLB debut". MLB.com. July 31, 2026. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Clark crushes 1st career homer in Tigers' win, shining alongside McGonigle". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
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