Detroit Tigers Top Prospect Gets Phenomenal New Ranking From Insider Keith Law

Keith Law of 'The Athletic' has high praise for Detroit Tigers' top prospect Max Clark, who he has ranked as the No. 2 prospect in baseball in his most recent update.

He’s chased pitches beyond the shadow of the strike zone just 6 percent of the time, and his overall whiff rate is only 15 percent. I might consider challenging him with Double A sooner rather than later, even though his power hasn’t shown up yet and he may struggle at the outset, because his strike zone judgement is too advanced for his current level.

Clark, 20, is currently ranked at No. 7 by MLB Pipeline, for comparison. A first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the Indiana high school ranks, he's currently playing for the West Michigan Whitecaps. That's the High-A affiliate of the Tigers, and he's hitting .270 with a .426 on-base percentage. He's got four homers, 30 RBIs and six doubles. He's struck out just 29 times in comparison to 40 walks. He's stolen eight bases.

Clark is part of a great wave of Tigers prospects including Kevin McGonigle (No. 26, MLB) and Josue Briceno (No. 81 MLB). Jackson Jobe just graduated off the top prospects list and was widely considered a Top-10 prospect in the game.

At the big-league level, Detroit is now 37-20 and owners of the best record in the American League. They are in first place in the American League Central and will start a new series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday night at 8:10 p.m. ET.