Max Clark

Maxwell Reece Clark
(Spark)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 198 lb.
• High School Franklin Community High School

• Born December 21, 2004 in Franklin, IN USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Max Clark was the third player taken in the 2023 amateur draft, by the Detroit Tigers. He entered the draft as the top-rated high school player in the country and was talked about as a potential first overall pick if the Pittsburgh Pirates, who held the selection, had been tempted to save a little money on a signing bonus by skipping on taking one of the three top college players available that year, the Louisiana State University tandem of P Paul Skenes and OF Dylan Crews and University of Florida OF Wyatt Langford. Many felt that all four had equivalent talent and would have been a defensible choice at #1, regardless of financial considerations. Most pre-draft articles about him described him as a true example of a five-tool player, although he was seen more as a line-drive hitter than a true power hitter.

Clark attended Franklin Community High School in Franklin, IN and was the top draft pick from Indiana since P Bryan Bullington had been the top pick of the 2002 Amateur Draft. He played for the United States at the 2022 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Florida, in which the U.S. won the Gold Medal. He hit a home run to beat Canada and had three hits against Chinese Taipei in the gold-medal game. He finished at .280/.357/.440. He had committed to going to Vanderbilt University, but his high draft status made it unlikely that he would turn down what was sure to be a generous offer to sign with Detroit. Indeed, he signed a contract with the Tigers on July 7th for a bonus of $7.7 million, slightly below slot value. He began his pro career with the FCL Tigers, hitting .243 in 12 games before being promoted to the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Florida State League, where he played another 11 games, hitting .154.

He started the 2024 season with Lakeland, hitting .286 in 73 games, then was promoted to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League where he hit .264 in 34 games. His combined slash line was .279/.372/.421 and he both scored and drove in 75 runs in 107 games. He was back at West Michigan at the start of 2025 and continued where he left off the year before. He was named to the American League squad for the 2025 Futures Game. In 111 games between West Michigan and the Erie SeaWolves, he hit .271/.403/.432 with 14 homers and 67 RBIs. He came into spring training in 2026 às the #6 prospect in baseball although he was likely headed back to AA for the start of the season.

Further Reading

• "MLB draft 2023: Franklin's Max Clark goes No. 3 overall to Detroit Tigers", Indy Star, July 9, 2023. [1]
• Jason Beck: "Tigers pull surprise with 'elite talent' Clark at No. 3", mlb.com, July 10, 2023. [2]
• Jason Beck: "Tigers sign No. 3 overall pick Max Clark", mlb.com, July 17, 2023. [3]
• Evan Petzold (Detroit Free Press): "A Tigers fan backed into top prospect Max Clark's Corvette. What happened next says everything.", Yahoo! Sports, March 17, 2024. [4]
• Manny Randhawa: "Get to know Tigers' No. 3 pick Max Clark", mlb.com, July 9, 2023. [5]
• David Suggs: "Who is Max Clark? Meet MLB Draft prospect enchanting scouts with five-tool potential", The Sporting News, July 9, 2023. [6]

Related Sites

• Perfect Game profile