Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark and Josue Briceño are the headliners for a Detroit Tigers farm system that has drawn high marks and ranks among the best in Major League Baseball.

And, while those three prospects rank among the best in the game ― McGongle is No. 2 overall, according to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, while Clark is in the top 10, according to both outlets ― they’ve each put together strong 2025 seasons to back it up.

McGonigle, Clark and Briceño on Wednesday were named to the first team on Baseball America’s Minor League All-Star Team. Those teams recognize the “top performances by prospects at every position,” and the Tigers were well represented, with the most prospects on the first team. The Baltimore Orioles (two) were the only other organization with more than one.

That trio seemed linked all season, promoted on the same day in July from high Single-A West Michigan to Double-A Erie.

Briceño, 21, earned the nod at first base, after walloping 20 home runs and compiling an .883 OPS between West Michigan and Erie while also spending time at catcher. It included a monster game for the Whitecaps in May in which he clubbed three home runs, drove in five runs and stole home against Dayton.

“Briceño bashed 20 home runs in 100 games — 46 of them at catcher, 32 at first base and 22 more at DH — while batting .266/.383/.500 as a 20-year-old,” Baseball America executive editor Matt Eddy writes. “While he faces questions about his viability behind the plate, Briceño’s power is real.”  

Clark, 20, turned in another strong season after the Tigers selected him No. 3 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, with a .271 average, .403 on-base percentage and .835 OPS across the two levels with more walks (94) than strikeouts (90). He tallied 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases.

“Clark did a little bit of everything well this season as he climbed to Double-A as a 20-year-old and put himself in play for the Tigers’ big league roster next season,” Eddy writes. “… Clark’s all-around ability could make him baseball’s next five-tool center field star.”

The Tigers also landed McGonigle in the 2023 draft, selecting him out of a Pennsylvania high school with the No. 37 overall pick. The shortstop has rocketed toward the top of the prospect landscape since, and slotted in as the designated hitter on Baseball America’s first team, giving way to Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin, the outlet’s player of the year, at shortstop.

McGonigle, 21, hit a combined .305 with a .991 OPS across three levels (one was a rehab stint), with 19 home runs and 80 RBIs. More than half (52) of his 101 base hits this season went for extra bases, and he compiled more walks (59) than strikeouts (46). 

“McGonigle teased at his potential in 2024, when he put up an .853 OPS in 74 games but hit just five home runs in a season spent primarily at Low-A,” Eddy writes. “(He) left no doubt about his overall hitting potential this season. McGonigle plowed through High-A on his way to Double-A while hitting .305/.408/.583 with 19 homers in 88 games. His slugging percentage was third-highest in the minor leagues. He drew 59 walks against 46 strikeouts. McGonigle and his picturesque lefthanded swing appear ready to assume a spot on the Detroit infield at some point next season.”

Earning a spot on Baseball America’s second team is Okemos product Caleb Bonemer, a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox system. A second-round draft pick in 2024, Bonemer hit a combined .281 with an .874 OPS across low-A Kannapolis and high-A Winston-Salem. He hit 12 home runs with 64 RBIs, and added 29 stolen bases, part of a season in which he’s emerged as a top-100 prospect and earned a spot on MLB Pipeline’s All-Breakout Prospect team.

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