Inside the Article:
The first two rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft are in the books and our Detroit Tigers have added a trio of new prospects to their organization. With the No. 3 overall pick, the Tigers surprised most of the experts when they went the high school route and selected OF Max Clark. Draft expert Keith Law of The Athletic believes the Tigers got the ‘closest thing to a five-tool player’ when they landed Clark.
Tigers land ‘closest thing to a five-tool player’ in Max Clark
According to Law, it was a bit of a surprise for the Tigers to pass on OF Wyatt Langford out of Florida in favor of Clark, but he believes it was still a good pick. In fact, Law noted that Clark would have gone 1-1 in a lot of MLB Drafts.
“The Tigers pull a mild surprise, taking the high schooler rather than Florida Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford — which is not a criticism of the pick, as Clark would have been a 1-1 candidate in a lot of years and was supposedly still in the Pirates’ mix this weekend,” Law wrote following Day 1 of the MLB Draft. “Clark is probably the draft’s closest thing to a five-tool player, a dynamic athlete with surprising power from his six-foot frame and the promise of plus defense in center. He’s also a bit of a social media star who’ll probably be a fan favorite for a long time – but he’s also further away from the majors than Langford is, probably by two years.“
Key Points
- The Tigers shocked many by selecting high school OF Max Clark as the No. 3 pick
- Keith Law of The Athletic was a bit surprised but thinks it was a solid pick
- Law notes that Clark was the ‘closest thing to a five-tool player in the draft
- Law says Clark could have gone first overall in many drafts
Bottom Line: Tigers fans will have to be patient
When all is said and done, it is going to be a while before we see Max Clark make his debut with the Tigers, so the fans will have to be patient (again). It is going to be very interesting to see who ends up having the better career out of Clark and Langford.
