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There is a fine line between early season success that might be fleeting and watching a player take their first steps towards prospect superiority. It’s rare to know in the early moments of a season if it’s one or the other, unless the results are so loud that they can’t be ignored. For right-handed pitcher Tanner Franklin, MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 prospect in the Cardinals' system, his dominance is more than just “loud”: It’s deafening.
Drafted in the 2nd round, 72nd overall, in the 2025 Draft, this University of Tennessee product has been nothing short of dominant since entering the organization. Over a very brief six innings of work between Single-A Palm Beach and High-A Peoria in 2025, Franklin struck out nine of the 28 batters that he faced, while only allowing one run and four hits. It turns out, that was only a small taste of the dominance that was to come.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
All three of Franklin’s starts in 2026 have been fun and interesting case studies. In his first two starts spanning 6 2/3 innings, Franklin struck out 16 of the 28 batters that he faced. He didn’t allow an earned run, while only allowing three hits and three walks. That’s a 57.1% strikeout rate over those first two starts of the season. On the season, Franklin’s strikeout rate of 48.9% is first in High-A and second in all of the Minor Leagues. That’s such a high strikeout rate that it almost feels like a typo, even in such a small sample. Franklin has dominated both lefties and righties to start the season, holding righties to a batting average of .222 and a slugging percentage of .278 and lefties to a batting average of .143 and a slugging percentage of .286.
While Franklin asserted his dominance in his first two starts, it’s his third start of the season that has me most intrigued. The stat line isn’t as dominant as his first two starts of the season, but it’s much more important. Over four innings, Franklin allowed four hits, four runs, three earned runs, and one walk, while striking out six. Franklin also allowed his first professional home run during this outing.
What that stat line won’t tell you is that Franklin pitched into the fifth inning for the first time in his pro career, and he did it efficiently. As the Cardinals transition this former collegiate reliever to a professional starter, they’re going to be careful with his innings and pitch counts. Right now, Franklin is on a loose 60 pitch count per start. Franklin entered the fifth inning of Wednesday's start having only thrown 55 pitches. Entering the fifth inning, Franklin had only allowed one run while striking out six. The fifth inning didn't go the way that Franklin wanted, but it was still a highly positive day for the 21-year-old righty. Franklin ended that start having thrown a career high 66 pitches.
Franklin’s stuff has been just as loud as his stats. Franklin’s high-90’s fastball is his calling card and it gets a ton of whiffs, but it’s the rest of his arsenal that is showing signs of taking the biggest steps. Both his slider and his cutter have been swing and miss pitches for him. Franklin’s also been using his changeup sparingly to lefties and that’s yielded positive results early on.
While Franklin is still working on getting ahead of hitters early in counts, it’s clear that he’s put in the work to erase much of the command issues that allowed him to fall to 72nd overall in the Draft. Franklin’s walk rate on the season is 8.9%, which would be about average in the Major Leagues for a starting pitcher. Franklin and the Cardinals have put in the work and with cleaner mechanics on the mound and a work ethic and drive to be the best, Franklin is one of the hottest and most dominant starting pitching prospects in baseball.