Tanner Franklin
I think Callis just said he could be the steal of the draft. Big FB with floor of a reliever. Control will be key.
#122 on BAs list if you care.
School: Tennessee Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.1
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Franklin spent a pair of seasons pitching in the bullpen with Kennesaw State before transferring to Tennessee in 2025, where he showed big-time stuff, significantly reduced his walk rate and helped form one of college baseball’s most overpowering pitching staffs. A 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander, Franklin has plenty of physicality and features an early hand-glove separation in his delivery with a moderately compact arm stroke and three-quarters arm slot. He attacks hitters with a big fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s. The pitch has been up to 102 mph and has solid ride and cutting action that makes it a real swing-and-miss pitch. A hard cutter around 90 mph complements his heater and has a distinct shape from a mid-80s slider that has more depth and a rarely-used curveball around 80 mph. Franklin has also flashed a few upper-80s changeups against lefties but rarely uses the pitch. He was a poor strike-thrower with Kennesaw State, where he walked 20.5% of batters in 27.1 innings in 2024, but he cut his walk rate to 5.5% in 2025 at Tennessee. Franklin’s reliance on his fastball/cutter combination and checkered strike-throwing suggests a likely reliever future, though a team enamored of his control gains and present stuff could at least give him a chance to start early on.
craviduce wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025 21:00 pm
I'm kind of excited about Franklin...the velocity will play early in the minors. When he gets to AA and AAA will see how his secondary stuff plays
He's certainly interesting, and I'd imagine they'll give him a shot as a starter.
RunSup wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025 20:59 pm
Tanner Franklin
I think Callis just said he could be the steal of the draft. Big FB with floor of a reliever. Control will be key.
#122 on BAs list if you care.
School: Tennessee Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.1
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Franklin spent a pair of seasons pitching in the bullpen with Kennesaw State before transferring to Tennessee in 2025, where he showed big-time stuff, significantly reduced his walk rate and helped form one of college baseball’s most overpowering pitching staffs. A 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander, Franklin has plenty of physicality and features an early hand-glove separation in his delivery with a moderately compact arm stroke and three-quarters arm slot. He attacks hitters with a big fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s. The pitch has been up to 102 mph and has solid ride and cutting action that makes it a real swing-and-miss pitch. A hard cutter around 90 mph complements his heater and has a distinct shape from a mid-80s slider that has more depth and a rarely-used curveball around 80 mph. Franklin has also flashed a few upper-80s changeups against lefties but rarely uses the pitch. He was a poor strike-thrower with Kennesaw State, where he walked 20.5% of batters in 27.1 innings in 2024, but he cut his walk rate to 5.5% in 2025 at Tennessee. Franklin’s reliance on his fastball/cutter combination and checkered strike-throwing suggests a likely reliever future, though a team enamored of his control gains and present stuff could at least give him a chance to start early on.
Like this pick too. Big frame, has hit 102 and is still developing. Hopefully the guy Bloom brought in from Seattle will improve our pitching development.
Don't love the Franklin pick.
A projected reliever picked #72 seems too much of a stretch.
Perhaps getting good value in Doyle and Mitchell convinced the Cardinal is was time for a high risk pick.
I’m curious what the plan is with Franklin. Do you rush a guy like that through the system as a reliever or send him down to low A as a starter and let him work on a third pitch knowing he can always become a reliever later?
Frontierman wrote: ↑13 Jul 2025 21:09 pm
I’m curious what the plan is with Franklin. Do you rush a guy like that through the system as a reliever or send him down to low A as a starter and let him work on a third pitch knowing he can always become a reliever later?
imo...i think they put him PalmBeach and stretch him out to starter...move him along from there if it works. It will probably work early on in his minor league career. AA and AAA will let you know what you have in him
