Clark and Jenkins have shared fields for a while. Now they're division rivals

MINNEAPOLIS -- They’ve been teammates and rivals, friends and competitors. Now they’re the starting center fielders for two AL Central teams.

And they’re still just 21 years old.

Detroit’s Max Clark and Minnesota’s Walker Jenkins both made their Major League debuts this year. The two have been linked in part because of their top-five prospect status, and in part due to their overlapping and intertwining paths to The Show.

To be clear, it wasn’t geography that brought them together. Clark grew up in Franklin, Ind., while Jenkins hails from South Brunswick, N.C. But their baseball talent brought them to the various showcases and tournaments that shine a spotlight on the country’s elite young talent. Clark recalls them first meeting at a couple of Perfect Game events.

“The first time I met Walker would have been PG Junior National, University of San Diego. I think I was 13, maybe 14,” Clark said. “And then the first time I played against him was the [PG] Jupiter WWBA. We were both freshmen.”

They might have dreamt of one day winding up in the same Draft class, but it would’ve been quite a stretch to predict that they’d make their Major League debuts within a month of each other. Though that’s exactly what happened. Clark joined the Tigers on July 31, while Jenkins was called up by the Twins on Aug. 28.

And by the looks of it, both are here to stay, meaning they can look forward to renewing their friendly rivalry 12 times a year for the foreseeable future. Their two teams just finished a series in Minneapolis, with the Twins winning two of three.

“To see each other and continue to play against each other, we know how important this game is to both of us,” Clark said. “We’re both gonna be impact players. So it's really, really cool to have a guy on the other side that's gone through kind of the same thing.”

Both players are already seeing some familiar faces throughout the Major Leagues, because the 2023 Draft class has a chance to be one of the greatest of all time. Check out the first-rounders and supplemental picks who have already reached the Majors:

1. RHP Paul Skenes, PIT
2. OF Dylan Crews, WAS
3. Clark
4. OF Wyatt Langford, TEX
5. Jenkins
6. SS Jacob Wilson, ATH
7. RHP Rhett Lowder, CIN
9. RHP Chase Dollander, COL
11. 1B Nolan Schanuel, LAA
12. OF Tommy Troy, ARZ
13. INF Matt Shaw, CHC
14. C Kyle Teel, BOS (now with CWS)
15. INF Jacob Gonzalez, CWS (now with PIT)
16. 1B Bryce Eldridge, SF
22. SS Colt Emerson, SEA
24. RHP Hurston Waldrep, ATL
26. INF George Lombard Jr., NYY
28. INF Brice Matthews, HOU
37. INF Kevin McGonigle, DET

That’s 19 of the first 37 players picked three years ago who have already made their Major League debuts.

“That’s not just a testament to the Draft, but also just the quality of humans,” Clark said of the 2023 class in general. “All of us worked our tails off to get here. We played together on Team USA. We knew what it took to get there, and we know what it takes to get here.

“It's a really cool moment. You look around and it's like, it's not just baseball. It's a brotherhood. And to see everybody doing well and healthy and balling out is really, really cool.”

You don’t hang out together too much off the field," Jenkins said, recalling the Draft process. "You’re still in high school and you’re with your parents, your family, staying in hotels. So we got to know each other relatively well, but it’s still not anything like this, where you’re spending a lot of time with these guys."

Clark even had a front-row seat for Jenkins’ first Major League home run, which he hit on Aug. 31 off Tigers utility man Zach McKinstry, who was mopping up at the end of an 11-1 loss. While reaching that milestone against a position player isn’t ideal, Clark (who hit his first off Athletics reliever Jack Perkins in his second game) wouldn’t turn it down.

“They all count. If you go if you go 20 homers, 20 bags, nobody asks how many were off position players. They just say you went 20/20. So it's a good story to tell,” Clark said. “There's gonna be a lot more where that came from, so I don’t think he has to worry about it too much.”