Max

Clark

It was only a matter of time before the 19-year-old phenom received a promotion. In 73 games at Single-A Lakeland, Clark slashed .286/.386/.421 with seven homers, 58 RBI, 55 runs scored and 26 stolen bases (in 28 attempts). He’s still a couple of years away from making an impact at the big-league level, but his five-category potential is very intriguing from a fantasy perspective. Teammate and fellow top prospect Kevin McGonigle will be making the jump to West Michigan with Clark.

It’s a star-studded lineup with several of the top fantasy prospects in the game featured alongside Basallo. The 19-year-old burgeoning slugger has morphed into one of the premier dynasty hitters in the fantasy landscape last year, and has backed it up this season in the upper minors, batting .274/.338/.449 with 12 homers and seven steals through 75 games for Double-A Bowie. Here’s the full lineup: Max Clark CF, Cole Young 2B, Sebastian Walcott SS, Basallo C, Spencer Jones RF, Xavier Isaac 1B, Colson Montgomery 3B, Jaison Chourio LF and Harry Ford DH.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reports that Clark will receive a $7.7 million signing bonus, which is roughly $600,000 below slot for the third overall pick, to forego his commitment to Vanderbilt to start his professional career. The 18-year-old prep outfielder is an excellent all-around talent and should make an impact for Detroit, and fantasy managers, in a few years.

Viewed by most evaluators as the top prep player in this year’s draft class, Clark is a Vanderbilt commit, but likely will forgo school after being selected in the top-three overall. The 18-year-old left-handed outfielder projects as a true center fielder with more polish offensively than most top prospects out of high school. He’s probably not going to offer the top-notch power numbers he might need to become a superstar, but that’s the closest thing to a knock on his game. He’s a terrific all-around talent and should make an impact for the Tigers in the next few years.