Scouting grades 20–80
55Hit
45Power
65Run
50Field
50Arm
A guy who absolutely flew up draft boards this past summer, Clark is one of the more exciting middle infield prospects in the class. Not only is he pretty tooled up across the board, but some of the polish that's already present in his game is hard to find with a player of his age.
At the plate, Clark showcases an extremely quick left handed swing with a barrel that stays through the zone well. He sets up from a narrow base, striding forward and using his compact swing to make contact to all fields. It's high level bat-to-ball skills, especially inside the zone, and an approach that limits strikeouts relatively well at this point with little chase. The power is currently is just gap to gap, as Clark's swing can send to get slappy and he can hit the ball on the ground frequently. This limited his impact on the summer circuit where he posted a .382 slugging percentage. The bat speed and athletic testing, however, point to more power Clark can grow into in the future should he learn to loft the ball better. That will likely be a development focus in profesional baseball, but it's easy to dream on what the eventual offensive profile here could look like in the future.
Clark is an explosive athlete who's flashed some 70-grade run times when underway. He projects to steal bases at the next level, and his legs allow him to beat plenty of ground balls in the infield.
Clark has some questions surrounding whether his long-term home will be at the shortstop position or if he'll shift off towards second or third base at the next level. His foot work can be inconcistent at times, and his average arm strength can challenge him on plays deep in the 5-6 hole. Still, Clark has plenty of range fit for the position, with quick hands. He has a chance to develop into an above average defender at the position, though that will likely come with pro instruction. Clark's loud summer has made him a name to reckon amongst the prep class, and somebody who should garner notible attention this spring. Clark decomitted from Princeton back in January and flipped his commitment to Duke with his brother Miles later in Febuary. He plays on one of the top high school teams in the country in St. John Bosco in California, and should garner notable attention this spring.
