The Detroit Tigers no longer can boast Major League Baseball’s second-best prospect. And, for the Tigers, that’s just fine.
Kevin McGonigle has gone from tearing up the minors to tearing up the majors in Detroit, with an American League Rookie on the Month honor already under his belt, and has lost his prospect eligibility with Baseball America — and probably with other evaluators very soon.
McGonigle’s graduation, coupled with Josue Briceño’s wrist surgery in March, left the Tigers with just two representatives in Baseball America’s updated top 100 prospects list, which came out Monday.
Outfielder Max Clark held steady at No. 6, while shortstop Bryce Rainer tumbled to No. 71.
The 21-year-old Clark, selected No. 3 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, is hitting .276 at Triple-A Toledo, with a home run, 12 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 31 games. He has struggled at the plate in the early part of May, hitting .188 (3 for 16) with one RBI through Tuesday.
“While Clark has courted controversy at times, he’s an incredibly talented all-around player,” writes Baseball America, perhaps referencing in part to his chains that have drawn some attention. “He has an advanced feel for the strike zone, bat-to-ball ability and the speed to stick in center.”
Rainer, meanwhile, entered this season with plenty of hype, despite a 2025 season cut short by a shoulder injury. The No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Rainer was No. 29 in Baseball America’s preseason rankings in January, but appears to have struggled this season, despite an early-season promotion to high Single-A West Michigan.
After hitting .167 with a .575 OPS in 42 at-bats for Lakeland, Rainer is faring mildly better for the Whitecaps, hitting .244 with a .720 OPS in 45 at-bats. In 87 at-bats between the two stops, Rainer has struck out 43 times.
“Rainer missed the second half of the 2025 season with a shoulder injury, and the effects have been striking,” Baseball America writes. “His swing looks out of sync, and the results have suffered. He’s striking out more than 40% of the time, but evaluators are willing to wait while he works off the rust.”
Briceño, meanwhile, was at No. 76 in the 2026 preseason rankings, but has since slipped out, thanks to arthroscopic surgery to repair a tissue tear in his right wrist in early March.
Also in Baseball America’s updated top 100: Okemos product Caleb Bonemer, a shortstop in the Chicago White Sox system who is at No. 22; and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s product Ike Irish, an outfielder/first baseman with the Baltimore Orioles who checks in at No. 74.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Only two Tigers among Baseball America’s updated top 100 prospects
Reporting by Daren Tomhave, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
