Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle promoted to High-A West Michigan

Guess they needed three more games in Lakeland…

We thought promotion season would kick off right after the MLB draft and the All-Star break, but Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle needed three more games with the Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers to really be ready. On Sunday evening, the Tigers announced that their two top position prospects have been promoted to High-A West Michigan.

The 19-year-olds led the Flying Tigers to an excellent first half record, and continue to sit atop league leaderboards in multiple categories. Clark is currently ranked the 10th best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, while McGonigle has been a rapid riser this season, up to 63rd in those rankings. Many would have him significantly higher up.

Centerfielder Clark was the third overall pick in the 2023 draft. He currently has six home runs and 25 stolen bases, slashing .279/.379/.402 with a 14.3 percent walk rate against a 17.4 percent strike out rate. He leads the Florida State League in RBI with 58, and has really caught fire in June/July after a slow start. Of course it helps you drive in a lot of runs when you’re hitting in the two-hole behind McGonigle.

McGonigle was selected 37th overall in 2023, with the Tigers Competitive Balance Round A selection. The left-handed hitting shortstop has the highest OPS in the Florida State League with an .877 mark, 30 points higher than the second place hitter on the list. McGonigle also leads in on base percentage. He has three home runs and 19 stolen bases, striking out only 9 percent of the time compared to a 12.8 percent walk rate.

Both are very ready for the next challenge.

Questions obviously remain until they’ve faced much better pitching competition, and both are likely not going to reach the major leagues until late 2026 at the earliest, but this is an excellent pair of hitting prospects.

Clark has all the tools to be an elite center fielder, and he has the discipline and contact ability to be a fine major league hitter as well. He’s a bit underpowered right now, but should have average power as he fills out. This is a possible five-tool beast in the making, and Clark brings a lot of leadership ability to the table as well.

McGonigle is an elite contact hitter who puts the barrel on just about everything he swings at. He’s pretty likely to have below average raw power, but he may get to more of it in-game than expected because the hit tool is just that good. McGonigle is also a pretty good shortstop for his level, even if a future home at second base is more likely due to pretty average arm strength.

It’s going to be very interesting watching these two move up and develop as players together. Enjoy, Whitecaps fans. You may not have them much more than the rest of this year considering the development trajectory the dynamic duo is on right now.