Vanderbilt OF commit Max Clark selected by Detroit Tigers in 2023 MLB Draft

Vanderbilt outfielder commit Max Clark has heard his name called in the 2023 MLB Draft. The Detroit Tigers selected him with the No. 3 overall pick.

Clark, a product of Franklin Community (IN), has won the Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year award three straight years. He committed to Vanderbilt in November 2019 and signed his National Letter of Intent this past year.

This past season, he had a .646 batting average with six home runs and 33 RBI. That helped him win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award.

“It absolutely means the world to me,” Clark said, via the Indianapolis Star. “This has been the one award that I had not checked off the box yet. I was looking forward to going out there this season and really giving it my all to win this award, and to finally be here in this moment and have the award in hand is so surreal. It’s been a blessing.”

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.