Detroit Tigers' top prospect Max Clark ready to make the leap in 2025

The winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across Indiana forced Detroit Tigers prospect Max Clark to move up his departure to Florida about 24 hours.

Clark drove through the night, arriving at the team's complex in Lakeland, Fla., Sunday morning.

He had an up-and-down first full season with the Tigers organization. Clark batted .279 with nine home runs, 75 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. He finished with a .372 on-base percentage, a .421 slugging percentage while consistently flashing the elite defense that compelled the Tigers to draft him No. 3 overall in 2023, ahead of other more experienced college prospects.

Clark batted just .182 through his first nine games of 2024 with Single-A Lakeland. He finished finished June with a .266 average and caught fire in July, earning a promotion to High-A Western Michigan, finishing the month batting .386 with eight doubles, three home runs, one triple, 17 RBIs and three stolen bases across two levels.

"The biggest thing this offseason was not just honing in on my baseball skills and everything on the field, but everything off the field as well," Clark said. "The one thing that I learned from my first full season was that it's a long, long season. Learning how to maintain weight, maintain nutrition, sleep, keeping the body healthy, and maintaining a mental toughness that allows you to bring your game for 120 to 160 games, depending on the level."

Clark, who finished last season ranked the No. 6 prospect in baseball, realized he wasn't eating enough during the season, causing his weight to fluctuate. The former Gatorade National Player of the Year made changes to his diet, eating more clean, lean meals as a way to maintain his weight. His favorite meal? Sautéed rosemary chicken with asparagus sprinkled with parmesan.

Maintaining weight goes hand-in-hand with answering the one lingering question surrounding Clark's game. The lefty's hit-tool has always been considered plus, if not plus-plus across the baseball industry. His arm strength, fielding and speed also grade out as plus. The one thing Clark still has to prove he can do as a pro is hit for power.

Clark is aware of the questions, and he knows his approach will always be geared toward high-contact and a high batting average. He also knows he has the raw strength to hit the ball as hard as any prospect. His work in the cage during the offseason focused on making minor tweaks to his swing as a way to tap into the power he knows he possesses.

"I train hard in the weight room," Clark said. "It's not a lack of legitimate strength; it's more of a lack of a path to create lift. The whole offseason, we started trying to find ways in order to create better posture over the plate, that leads to a higher launch angle on the ball, which therefore creates more power. Higher launch angle, more distance.

"I'd much rather have a guy that can hit than a guy that punches a bunch and hits for power. Yes, I want to have the best of both worlds and try to get them as close as I can, but I'll always be a hitter first."

Another focus of Clark's offseason has been improving on the mental side of the game. As one of the most-followed prospects in baseball (424,000 followers on Instagram), Clark's used to being scrutinized on social media. He went viral last season for wearing a pair of cleats with comments from people who doubted the Tigers picking him No. 3 overall. He knows the pro season is long and difficult, and the ability to block out the noise and focus on the game is paramount to playing your best on the field.

"If you have the mentality of going in and understanding how good you are and what you can bring to the table, even on your off days, that helps you be so much better," Clark said. "If you're walking up to the plate questioning yourself, you literally have no chance. The game is already hard as it is, and pitchers are already as good as they are. And if you're going up there with negative self-talk, or you're just out of it, you have no chance.

"So, the mentality aspect is huge, and that was the biggest thing I learned thanks to (Andrew Graham), our Low-A manager. He was huge about that. He's really good on the mental side and just kind of understanding, who you are, being you, etc."

Clark added his Tigers teammates have also been key to his growth. Current teammates like fellow Top-100 prospect Kevin McGonigle, as well as big leaguers like Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter are great resources to bounce information off of and learn from.

With Spring Training on the horizon, Clark will have more chances to learn from players on the Major League side. As for when he'll get his call to The Show, Clark isn't putting any expectations on that. Clark, who turned 20 last month, is focused on competing every day and letting the rest take care of itself.

"I really don't like to set any kind of a goal on where I want to be in terms of affiliates or levels, because I feel like it's just a lot of added pressure on yourself," Clark said. "For me, I'm trying to win every single week, every single month, and then every single half. So, when I look at it from a wide scale, I want to try and be as consistent as possible. Day in and day out, being as tuned in and mentally locked in as I can and trying to continue that for 130 to 150 games this year.

"Obviously last year there were some slow slumps, and there's always going to be that, because that's how baseball is. But trying to get out of those quicker, trying to ride the highs even longer is going to be the main key."

Follow IndyStar high school baseball Insider Akeem Glaspie on X at @THEAkeemGlaspie.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Detroit Tigers' top prospect Max Clark ready to take leap in 2025