Clark, McGonigle Head to West Michigan
July 21, 2024 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
COMSTOCK PARK, MI - Sunday - The West Michigan Whitecaps roster has received two of the premier prospects in Major League Baseball, as outfielder Max Clark, the Detroit Tigers No. 1 Prospect, and currently the No. 10 Overall Prospect by MLB Pipeline, along with fellow Top-100 MLB Prospect infielder Kevin McGonigle, have been assigned to the club from the Lakeland Flying Tigers, in a move announced by the Tigers on Thursday.
Clark was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft from Franklin Community High School in Indiana last July after winning the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year Award. The gold medal winner at the 18-and-under World Cup hit .646 with an .808 on-base percentage during his senior season in high school before reaching base at a .383 clip in 23 games of an abbreviated first professional season in 2023. This year, the first Whitecaps player in club history with a 2004 birthyear, ranks first in RBI (58) among Florida State League players, and second in runs scored (55). The 19-year-old is likely to get playing time at all three outfield positions, with most of his opportunities coming in center field.
McGonigle was enjoying a monster season for the Flying Tigers, as Detroit's No. 3 Prospect led the Florida State League in on-base percentage (.407) and OPS (.877) and was second in the league with a .326 batting average at just 19 years old. Drafted with the No. 37 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is considered one of the best pure young hitting prospects in Major League Baseball and will likely get playing time in the Whitecaps infield.
"The anticipation of Max and Kevin playing in West Michigan started last summer, and the realization has now been fulfilled." Whitecaps Vice President and General Manager Jim Jarecki said. "They had to prove themselves first in Lakeland and they have adjusted outstandingly well."
On the 20-80 scouting scale, all five of Clark's tools are all rated at or above the average threshold, with four placed significantly above average with hit (60), run (70), field (65), and arm (70) by Baseball America. As a high schooler, Clark pitched along with his time as a position player and was clocked off the mound as high as 97 mph but is focusing exclusively as a position player in professional baseball.
Clark becomes just the fifth former Top-3 pick in the history of the MLB Draft to become a Whitecap, joining outfielder Ben Grieve in 1995, Eric Munson in 1999, Spencer Torkelson in 2020, and Jackson Jobe in 2022.
"Being a kid from the Midwest, it will be exciting for Whitecaps fans to see another top Tigers prospect put on the Whitecaps uniform and play at LMCU Ballpark," Jarecki said. "The recent stretch of prospects between Riley Greene, Jace Jung, and Jackson Jobe continues to show what lies ahead for the Tigers. Adding Max and Kevin to the lineup is very exciting."
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps begin a six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday night at 6:35 pm. West Michigan sends righty Austin Bergner to the mound as part of a Minor League Rehab Assignment. Tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 pm on 106.1 FM ' The Ticket ' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids to catch all the action. Don't miss out on the excitement; get your tickets for all 2024 home contests, or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.
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