DETROIT -- Max Clark stayed patient this summer while the Tigers rotated through center fielders in the Major Leagues, saying he needed to figure things out at Triple-A Toledo. After a dominant July, his patience is paying off: The Tigers are calling up their top prospect for Friday’s series opener at the Athletics, sources told MLB.com.
The decision has not yet been announced by the club. The Tigers will need to make moves on their 26- and 40-man rosters to make the addition. Baseball America’s Emily Waldon first reported the promotion.
Clark has been under a spotlight for a potential callup all season at Triple-A Toledo, particularly after good friend and fellow 2023 Draft pick Kevin McGonigle made Detroit’s Opening Day roster and became an American League Rookie of the Year candidate. Clark, who struggled in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee to big league camp, never pushed, said he needed to learn in Toledo to be ready for the Majors, and ultimately let his play do the talking.
“It’s a process,” said Clark, MLB Pipeline’s No. 13 overall prospect, earlier this summer. “There’s a reason it’s development and there’s a reason it isn’t linear. Just trying to piece a week into a month, into two months, into 12 weeks.”
Clark’s play showed the developmental process. He had a hot start to the season, cooled off in May, then made adjustments in June that turned into a torrid July. He has eight multi-hit games this month and as many walks (16) as strikeouts (16) while slashing .338/.466/.620 for the month.
COMPLETE TIGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Just as important, Clark’s power – a long-discussed topic among evaluators – has emerged. The 21-year-old outfielder crushed another home run for Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, giving him five homers this month and continuing a modest power surge that began June 1. After the lefty-swinging Clark hit just two homers combined in April and May, he now has nine dingers since the calendar flipped to June.
“I am so glad of the challenge I had in the spring,” Clark said earlier this summer. “I came out and rocked the first six weeks of the season, forgot how to hit for six more weeks, then came back out of it and got comfortable again. It’s cool to go through the ups and downs of the season and understand how to get out of them and also be OK with failing. …
“It’s kind of just the way my career has gone. I get there [at a level], I dominate, they figure me out, I figure it back out. Just those little victories building up, that’s only going to help you at the big league level. I think it would be brutal to go without any struggle and then just really struggle in the big leagues, because then you’ve got to figure it out against the best players in the world.”
Clark could get plenty of runway to go through the process in Detroit, whether the Tigers continue to push for playoff contention or take a step back at Monday’s Trade Deadline to focus on the future. The Tigers have been without a full-time center fielder since Parker Meadows’ gruesome outfield collision in Minnesota in April left him with a broken arm. Javier Báez returned from the injured list to play center field the last couple games, but manager A.J. Hinch likes to bounce him between center and shortstop. The Tigers claimed James Outman on waivers in mid-June to stabilize their defense, but he has hit just .167 with four homers and 41 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances.
The Tigers also potentially lost Matt Vierling to injury; he left Wednesday’s loss to the Orioles with a groin strain suffered while running out a triple. Add in Kerry Carpenter’s plantar fasciitis that forced him to the injured list, and Detroit has at-bats available in the outfield. With the club’s postseason hopes fading, it’s time to see if Clark’s athletic game and relentlessly positive energy can provide a boost.