LAKELAND, FL – Max Clark was hard to miss.
The 21-year-old prospect typically plays center field, but with Parker Meadows stationed there, he shifted to left field as the Detroit Tigers faced the Atlanta Braves on Feb. 24 in North Port, Florida, during spring training, with left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus on the mound.
Clark, a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball who hasn't played above Double-A Erie, wore four diamond chains draped over his jersey. He paired them with oversized sunglasses and warrior-style eye black, plus his full tattoo sleeves covering both arms.
His jewelry sparkled in the Florida sun.
"There's no chance that there was a kid who had never been to the big leagues coming into camp like that during my old-man heyday – no chance," said Braves TV analyst C.J. Nitkowski, a 52-year-old who pitched in parts of 10 MLB seasons, including with the Tigers from 1995-96 and 1999-2001.
It didn't take long for attention to shift from Clark's chains to his glove.
In the first inning, moments after the broadcast discussion, Clark dropped two fly balls in left field. The first was a pop-up that fell in front of him in shallow left-center field, and the second was a deep drive that landed next to him at the warning track. (Later on, he slipped in foul territory, appeared to lose track of the count and fell over on a swing-and-miss.)
The sun was bright, but both fly balls should've been caught.
Clips of those events circulated on social media.
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Former MLB infielder Jeff Frye, a 59-year-old who played parts of eight seasons with four teams, shared the video with pointed criticism about Clark's style, blaming prospect hype, personal branding and a lack of veteran presence.
The viral post sparked debate about Clark's personality.
Here's how manager A.J. Hinch responded: "He's incredible to be around every day. I love his enthusiasm. I love the way he approaches the game. I love the work that he puts in. I love that he has the confidence to be himself. That's a staple of what's expected when you come into our clubhouse under any team that I'm on. Every era is different, and I think this is the era that we're in, whether it's social media or self-expression – or fan opinion is more public than ever. I think, obviously, there comes a time when things need to be addressed. We're not there because Max has done nothing wrong. Max is being himself, and Max is fitting in perfectly on a really good big-league team in his first major league spring training. Our guys love him. I think people are incredibly unfair when they can criticize with no merit."
Clark – whom the Tigers selected No. 3 overall in the 2023 draft out of Franklin Community High School in Indiana – advanced from High-A West Michigan to Double-A Erie during the 2025 season, hitting .271 with 14 home runs, 94 walks and 90 strikeouts across 111 games, stealing 19 bases in 21 attempts and playing exclusively in center field.
He hit .251 with seven home runs, 29 walks (14.3% walk rate) and 34 strikeouts (16.7% strikeout rate) in 43 games at the Double-A level.
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Inside the Tigers' clubhouse, Clark has received support from his teammates with MLB experience, including Meadows. He is hitting .133 (2-for-15) with one walk and five strikeouts in seven spring games, but behind the scenes, he is learning important lessons that he will carry with him throughout his career from being around big leaguers.
"I talked to him about it," Meadows said. "It really just comes down to what got him here – and that's being himself. I reminded him of that."
A few days later, Meadows wore Clark's diamond chains in the dugout during pregame warmups to show support.
He gave them back before first pitch.
"I think he wore a bigger chain today," Meadows said.
"I respect him for it because it's going to happen," Meadows continued. "The higher levels you play at, you're going to get critiqued more. I've been through that. I just reminded him to continue to be himself and maintain that confidence."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
