Baseball’s brightest young faces are getting some reps in at MLB’s new Spring Breakout, and the old guard has apparently showed up to lend their wisdom to the next generation.
Outfielder Max Clark, who the Detroit Tigers selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, was seen with legendary slugger Miguel Cabrera on Saturday. The two were chatting during batting practice ahead of the Tigers’ afternoon showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB introduced Spring Breakout as a new avenue for teams to give top prospects a shot during Spring Training. There were 16 games on the scheduled between Thursday and Sunday, with Detroit’s final contest coming on Saturday.
Clark is one of the Tigers’ most promising young bats, as the 19-year-old currently ranks as the No. 1 prospect in their farm system and the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball. He only got a chance to appear in 23 professional games last summer, though, batting .224 with two home runs, 19 RBI and a .760 OPS.
Cabrera, meanwhile, retired at the end of the 2023 season, marking an end to his 16-year stint in Detroit. Including his five seasons with the Florida Marlins, Cabrera hit .306 with 3,174 hits, 511 home runs, a .901 OPS and 67.3 WAR in his career.
The Tigers hired the two-time MVP and 12-time All-Star as a Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations last fall.
Cabrera is set to turn 41 years old next month. The future Hall of Famer made his MLB debut 18 months before Clark was born.
