- Full name Tanner Franklin
- Born 05/25/2004 in
- Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: R / Throws: R
-
Drafted in the CB-B round (72nd overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2025 (signed for $1,145,900).
View Draft Report
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.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 40 | Changeup: 30 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 40.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
-
BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
Adjusted Grade: 40
Track Record: After two seasons pitching out of the bullpen for Kennesaw State, Franklin made the jump to Tennessee prior to his junior season in 2025. He made a career-high 27 appearances for the Volunteers, striking out 52 across 38.2 innings. The Cardinals drafted Franklin in the second round in 2025 and signed him for a little over $1.1 million. To begin his professional career, he was deployed as a starter across three appearances at both Class A levels.
Scouting Report: Franklin is a 6-foot-5, physical righthander who delivers the ball from a three-quarters arm slot with a slight crossfire finish. Entering his junior campaign, Franklin added 3 mph to his four-seam fastball and improved his spin efficiency, which resulted in more ride, armside run and a more deceptive plane of approach to the plate. Franklin’s fastball is now a double-plus pitch, with velocity, movement and release traits befitting its 70 grade. His go-to secondary pitch is a cutter in the low 90s. Much like his fastball, his cutter also jumped more than 3 mph. The pitch added ride and lost horizontal break, creating more cut. Franklin’s slider is a mid-80s mini-sweeper with shorter break than a traditional sweeper. The slider drives the highest miss rate in his arsenal and projects as an above-average pitch. His changeup was rarely used but showed good vertical separation off his fastball and the potential to become an average pitch. He threw a curveball as a sophomore at Kennesaw State but ditched the pitch when he transferred to Tennessee. Franklin’s command is fringe-average and will need to improve for him to make the jump to a starting role.
The Future: The Cardinals plan to deploy Franklin as a starter in 2026. Equipped with plus stuff and improved command, he could successfully make the jump into the rotation.
Scouting Grades Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 45.
Draft Prospects
-
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.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 40 | Changeup: 30 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 40.
