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DETROIT -- The question was bound to come up in the wake of Parker Meadows’ injury: Why not call up Max Clark, the Tigers’ next-best prospect after Kevin McGonigle, and the No. 8 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline? The answer: While Clark has the potential to be the Tigers’ center fielder of the future, that future isn’t here just yet. “No, he wasn’t a consideration to come up,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve been very consistent with him needing time to continue development. He’s taken everything that we have asked him to do and has started to apply it in Triple-A, and he’s gotten off to a good start himself. And whether that’s on the bases or on defense or certainly the bat, he’s done a really good job of getting himself into Triple-A. … “We obviously expect him to factor in more and more as these things develop and he continues to develop himself, but Wenceel [Pérez] was the clear option.” Clark has started off hot at the plate after the Tigers made the decision to have him open the season at Toledo despite just 43 games at Double-A Erie. His .352 average (19-for-54) includes a streak of six consecutive multihit games from April 1-8. His .439 on-base percentage includes twice as many walks (10) as strikeouts (five). Saturday’s 0-for-4 performance against St. Paul marked his first game so far this season in which he did not reach base safely. |
Perhaps most surprising, he entered Tuesday with a .537 slugging percentage despite still searching for his first Triple-A home run. He has slashed the gaps and lines for eight doubles (tops in the International League) and a triple, meaning nearly half of his 19 hits have gone for extra bases. He has been an incredibly disciplined hitter, with just a 17.8 percent swing rate on pitches outside the strike zone and a 93.9 percent contact rate when he swings on pitches in the zone. He has swung and missed at just three of the 105 fastballs he has seen entering Tuesday, according to Statcast. There’s a lot to like as Clark settles into the daily grind and travel of Triple-A ball. But there’s also just 14 games of sample size. He has faced three teams so far in the Triple-A season, though he has held his own against pitching prospects like the Mets’ Jonah Tong and the Twins’ Connor Prielipp and Kendry Rojas. Just under half of the pitches he has seen have been fastballs (41.5 percent) and sinkers (7.5). A wider range of pitchers and arsenals should give him the looks and repetitions the Tigers want to see before his readiness becomes a longer conversation. |
Yes, McGonigle has made the jump from Double-A to the big leagues with no Triple-A time look seamless. But McGonigle also looked far more advanced in Spring Training than Clark, whose time in big league camp provided the pointers for him to work on in Triple-A. Pérez, for his part, also got off to a hot start in Toledo. Moreover, his big league experience and switch-hitting bat fit into how Hinch sees filling center field for the next several weeks. Javier Báez has started two games in center since Meadows’ injury, with Matt Vierling starting the other. Báez has picked up where he left off filling in for Meadows last year, looking comfortable in center. By starting Báez in center, Hinch frees up shortstop for McGonigle and third base for Colt Keith, while leaving the DH slot available for rotating Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene and others. Clark’s time will come. It’s just not here yet. |
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Hinch dedicated the Tigers’ win Sunday to the family of Phil Garner, who passed away Saturday at age 76. Garner played 16 seasons in the big leagues before embarking on a 15-year managerial career that included two-plus seasons in Detroit. He was the Tigers’ manager as they opened Comerica Park in 2000. “He wore our uniform for a short period of time,” Hinch said, “and then personally for me, wore two uniforms that I’ve worn in the same position and became a really close friend. He cared a lot about Detroit.” Hinch got to know Garner in Houston, where Garner had managed the Astros to a World Series berth in 2005. When the Tigers hired Hinch following the 2020 season, they talked about the job. “Even though his time here didn’t go great, he was a big advocate for Detroit,” Hinch said. |
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• Triple-A Toledo: The Mud Hens (7-8) hit the road for Louisville after winning four of six at home against a prospect-loaded St. Paul team. Lael Lockhart and three relievers took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before finishing off a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 win in the Hens’ home opener at Fifth Third Field. Gage Workman went 9-for-21 for the series, including a four-hit, two-homer game Sunday in which he fell a triple shy of a cycle. • Double-A Erie: The SeaWolves (2-7) return home for six games against Harrisburg beginning Tuesday night at UPMC Park after going 1-5 on the road against the O’s-affiliated Chesapeake BaySox. Brett Callahan went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases in Wednesday’s 13-8 win. Seth Stephenson hit a three-run homer in the same game, while No. 21 prospect Izaac Pacheco hit his first Double-A homer. • High-A West Michigan: The Whitecaps (4-5) head to Lansing for six games beginning Tuesday after going 2-4 against the Dodgers-affiliated Great Lakes Loons. No. 18 prospect Lucas Elissalt struck out five batters over four innings of three-run ball in defeat on Friday. Carlos Marcano tossed four scoreless innings on two hits with three strikeouts in Wednesday’s 5-2 win. • Single-A Lakeland: The Flying Tigers (7-2) lead the Florida State League’s West Division heading into a six-game trip to Fort Myers, Fla., after going 4-2 at home against Reds-affiliated Daytona. No. 3 prospect Bryce Rainer hit a Statcast-projected 477-foot drive for his first home run of the season in Friday’s 2-1 win. No. 17 prospect Ben Jacobs struck out seven batters over 3 2/3 scoreless innings in Thursday’s 10-2 win. He has tossed 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball with 14 strikeouts through two starts this season. |
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