Max Clark isn’t in Detroit yet. But he’s not very far away.

Clark, the Tigers’ No. 2 prospect and a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, headlines the Opening Day roster for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. The roster was announced before Toledo’s season opener Friday against Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pa.

Advertisement

Clark, 21, was in major-league camp with the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., for much of spring training, with a long-shot chance of making the team. But he was reassigned to minor-league camp March 9.

He split last season between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie, and he debuted for Toledo on Friday night. He led off and played center field; he walked twice in his first four plate appearances, and he stole a base.

Clark and his good friend, Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle, also 21, were among the top story lines entering spring training. While Clark had his struggles offensively, going 2-for-18 with one RBI at the plate, McGonigle thrived and made the Tigers’ Opening Day roster.

McGonigle went 4-for-5 in his historic major-league debut in Thursday’s season-opening 8-2 victory over the Padres in San Diego, and Clark spent much of the game reposting McGonigle highlights on social media.

Advertisement

Both were first-round draft picks in 2023, out of high school; Clark went third overall and McGonigle 37th. McGonigle entered the season the No. 2 prospect in baseball (per MLB Pipeline), and Clark was No. 10.

Clark is one of seven top-30 Tigers prospects (per MLB Pipeline) who are starting the season with Toledo.

Toledo’s roster includes 10 players who are on the Tigers’ 40-man roster, including pitchers Brenan Hanifee, Madden, Miller, Keider Montero and Drew Sommers, and hitters Cruz, Jace Jung, Lee, Wenceel Perez and Valencia.

Toledo opens the season with nine games on the road, before its home opener at Fifth Third Field on April 7.

Advertisement

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Max Clark won’t be too far from Tigers as top prospect’s season gets started