To this point this front office is doing very well in drafting and targeting prospects in trades. Especially positional players. Expected slash line, from the article is below. There was something similar for most of the hitters in Detroit on SM as well
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The Tigers’ No. 3 prospect has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, with just three hits and nine strikeouts across 18 at-bats in his first five games. But part of that has been bad batted ball luck. All of Rainer’s contact has come at 91 mph or harder, with most coming at 104 mph or harder.
To wit – and we’re dealing with tiny sample sizes here – Rainer’s expected slash line of .224/.397/.430 is much more in line with expectations than his actual slash line of .143/.333/.214.
The California native similarly got off to a slow start in 2025 – 2-for-18 in his first six games – before roaring to an .831 OPS. The signs are there for Rainer to become the next great power-hitting shortstop prospect, and he gave a taste of why on Friday.
Max Clark progressing but he still shouldn’t be in Detroit - not yet
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“Every time you go through a dark period, whether it’s life or sports or anything, you come out a better man,” Clark told the Free Press on Saturday, April 11. “Everybody needs a moment of setback.”
Clark got his setback – and maybe more than that – in his first spring training with the Tigers.
Basically, he was a mess. He made uncharacteristic mistakes on defense, dropping fly balls and getting backlash on social media.
He struggled at the plate, going 0-for-13 in his final eight games.
And the Tigers came to a quick conclusion: He wasn’t going to make this club. At least, not yet
….He had to spend more time in the minor leagues.
So, that is why Clark – a 2023 first-rounder – was cut 17 days before Opening Day.
In some ways, the quick cut seemed merciful: Clark just needed to exhale. He needed to relax.
Learning to rise from failure
Clark has taken all of those struggles and grown from it. Because he figured out what went wrong.
“Having the moment of setback, and having that adversity is huge,” he said “You find holes in your game that got exploited. That left me with a lot of areas to improve.”
The main problem boiled down to the thing the Tigers harp on constantly.
He wasn’t swinging at the right pitches.
“I got a little bit outside of my zone in the spring,” he said. “Whether it’s being too amped up, whether it’s guys are executing pitches better on the edges around the zone, rather than in the heart.”
He has cleaned that up, started hammering pitches in the zone and he’s soaring again.
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….“There really isn’t a better teaching tool than failure,” Toledo manager Gabe Alvarez said. “He had to make some adjustments - being more selective at the plate, being able to go after the right pitches. He knows he can hit. And that’s what he’s done all year. He’s doing great.”
So move him up? Not so fast
“He’s taken everything that we have asked him to do and started to apply it in Triple-A and has gotten off to a good start himself, whether that’s on the bases, on defense or certainly the bat,” Hinch said. "He has done a really good job getting himself used to Triple-A. We obviously expect him to factor in more and more as these things develop, and he continues to develop himself.”
Clark is a rare five-tool player
….And now, he’s learning how to use all of them.
He has thrown out several runners – anybody running on him seems foolish, because he has a cannon for an arm
And he’s learning how to use his speed on the bases, becoming more of a threat. He has six stolen bases in 12 games, which is a vast improvement from his 19 steals in 111 games in 2025.
“I’m just more aggressive,” he said. “I’ve definitely gotten better at reading pitchers, but I’ve also done more homework, trying to understand their tendencies when they like to pick, what their times are, and I’m just trying to find ways to impact the game on all five tools.”
That’s what makes Clark so dangerous.
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Yes, there is a bigger picture that is often missed with Clark – who is still the youngest player on the Toledo roster.
Even though Clark is full of flash, even though he has so much confidence, even though he wears the gold chains, even though he seems so brash, many have the wrong perception about him.
“You get to know him, and you’re like, this is a real humble, down-to-earth kid that was raised with great morals,” Alvarez said. “He’s a great teammate."
A great teammate who endured failure and has risen from it.
That is a good article but it never gave a reason why Clark shouldn’t get brought up.
Appreciate the updates, I try and catch the Mudhens in Des Moines when they play the ICubs. Great stadium and close to my favorite Italian grocery store Evah.
I think it kind of did. He recognized what he needed to work on and now he is attempting to learn and incorporate those changes into his game. Probably better to do that at AAA than with the Tigers. That way he will be more intuitive and comfortable when he does come up. Less risk of failing once those traits become inherent and part of his baseball DNA.
And, as dumb as it may sound, I wonder if they want to see him deal with how pitchers react to him, what adjustments they make next go round. How to deal with struggling there as the leap to Detroit is far far greater than anything he has done to this point.
Also, as much as we love KM, Clark is not the player that KM is, not a negative on Clark but iirc this is the first time he hasn’t struggled starting out at a new level, AAA.
He needs to play every day and easier to do in Toledo than Detroit with the way Hinch manages.
Good point. I agree. He had another 2 hit night last night by the way.
McGonigle 8 year extension booked Ages 21-28, same FA year as Konnor Griffin, who signed 9 but is a year younger
I can’t hear a word he’s saying.
He said, “tell the kid to keep his eye on the ball and no drinking or drugs…Ever!!”
Also, “the kid should go to bed early and lift weights in the morning”.
That pretty much sums it up.
Clark is weighed down by the 100 lbs of chain around his neck
My grandpa always taught me to look for the stitches on the ball which makes you keep your eye on the ball. I think that’s why im a good hitter.
I have never done any kinds of drugs or drinking. My mom would kill me me.
Sleep is hard though. I get up every morning and run 5 miles. Then I go to school. Then I have track and baseball practice and then I go to work at McDonald’s a couple days a week to help my mom out a little with the bills. Plus that im having a very hard time with losing my grandpa and grandma. Im having a very hard time sleeping.
Heavy stuff dude, life is up an down, each side teaches you about the other. You’re doing and going through hard stuff, you’ll be better for it, trust me. When you do hard things, regular stuff seems easy, keep grinding