What Detroit Tigers prospect Max Clark thinks about Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford

Just a few weeks ago, left fielder Wyatt Langford made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers at 22 years old, after just 44 games in the minor leagues. Following a red-hot spring training in which he hit six homers in 21 games, Langford has one homer and a .238 average in 28 games this season.

But what was he doing at 19 years old?

Turns out, Langford was riding the bench on the University of Florida's baseball team, stepping to the plate four times across four games throughout his entire freshman season. He turned into one of the best all-around hitters in program history on his way to becoming the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, but at age 19, he was a benchwarmer in college.

The Detroit Tigers, of course, passed on Langford in last summer's draft, selecting instead Max Clark, a center fielder from Franklin Community High School in Indiana, with the No. 3 overall pick. Clark, now 19, is playing for Low-A Lakeland in the Tigers' organization.

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"He's a phenomenal player," Clark said of Langford. "He's getting all the love he deserves. There's been a lot where people compare us and contrast us, but at the end of the day, we're both really good ballplayers, and we're a part of the same agency."

The Clark-Langford debate, which pits the two players against each other, is a common topic amongst Tigers fans on social media. Some fans wish the Tigers had Langford in their outfield in the big leagues right now, rather than having to wait many years — possibly until 2026 — for Clark to arrive.

Clark has seen some of the comments.

He has something to say.

"There's no hate between either of us," Clark said. "It's a completely different game. He's a college guy; I'm a high school guy. Neither of us pay attention to that too much because it doesn't matter at the end of the day. I hope he becomes a great player, and I hope I become a great player. The same he does with me. We're good buddies."

Both players are represented by Wasserman Baseball, one of the top agencies in sports. Wasserman represented 13 of the top 100 players in the 2023 draft, as ranked by Baseball America. Clark has agent Sam Samardzija; Langford has agent BB Abbott.

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Clark signed an under-slot $7.7 million bonus with the Tigers, which allowed the Tigers to select shortstop Kevin McGonigle out of Monsignor Bonner High School in Pennsylvania with the No. 37 overall pick and sign him to an over-slot $2.85 million bonus.

Had the Tigers drafted Langford, they wouldn't have been able to get McGonigle.

"We root for each other," Clark said of Langford. "We text each other all the time, tell each other good luck. I congratulated him when he got to the bigs."

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Clark clarified something else, too.

"I root for all baseball players," he said. "It's the same thing with any kid that's in my class or the class below me. I just want to see everybody succeed. To see him do great and debut is pretty cool, but on the flip side, I'm just worried about my process, trust the process and getting to the next step, West Michigan."

It hasn't been easy for Langford with the Rangers, as he's 25-for-105 with one home run, 11 walks and 26 strikeouts. While Langford learns in the big leagues with the defending World Series champions, Clark is focused on his long-term development in Low-A Lakeland.

He is working toward a promotion to High-A West Michigan.

"The biggest thing is development," Clark said. "I want to continue to develop, and I want to continue to get into a spot where I'm getting my A-swing off every time, I'm getting into better posture and positioning in the box. I want to be doing more damage in the heart of the zone and attacking more in the heart of the zone than I did the previous year. That's all stuff that came in the baseball player plan."

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Clark is hitting .264 with one home run, 14 walks and 18 strikeouts in 19 games, spanning 88 plate appearances. He has eight stolen bases in eight attempts, all while playing solid defense in center field.

Clark, a left-handed hitter, went hitless in his first three games and responded with 17 hits in 12 games (for a .378 average) but just two hits in his past four games (.125).

There will be ups and downs in the future, too.

Don't forget, Clark still has nearly three years until his 22nd birthday. He would be a college freshman at Vanderbilt if he hadn't been selected near the top of the 2023 draft.

"Obviously, I have goals of wanting to go to West Michigan and wanting to get to (Double-A) Erie, and that's all great," Clark said, "and you can say that, but those goals from a baseball standpoint are what you have to complete before you can even think about getting up there. You gotta buy into your process, and those are my goals.

"My goal is to complete my processes at a high level consistently, and then move up."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Max Clark rooting for Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford