St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Already Showing Signs of Ace Potential

"Tanner Franklin’s college career featured him operating out of the bullpen, including in his final year with Tennessee," Nestico wrote. "This reliever profile did not deter the Cardinals, who spent their 72nd pick on the 6’5″ flamethrower. Franklin made a strong first impression following his selection, starting his pro career in Lo-A and flashing his stupendous fastball. This pitch sits in the upper 90s with immense ride from a lower 3/4 slot. It plays very well in the zone, evading bats to register gaudy whiff rates.

"His secondaries are far less polished than his heater, but provide him fundamental building blocks to stick as a starter. His slider is his strongest breaking ball, sitting in the mid 80s with moderate glove-side action. Supporting his slider is a low 90s cutter that lives between his fastball and slider on the movement plot with its slight cutting action. He is comfortable throwing the pitch early in counts to get ahead. He rounds out his arsenal with an unrefined changeup that he exclusively throws against LHH."

Franklin was a teammate of Cardinals prospect Liam Doyle, and they both profile in a similar manner. Both have electric fastballs with off-speed stuff that still needs to be developed.

Doyle receives a lot of praise, while Franklin has largely been overlooked within the Cardinals' system. By the end of the year, both of these pitching prospects should be ranked near the top of the Cardinals system, with Doyle likely remaining the top prospect until his big league debut.

Tanner has dominated minor league baseball since being drafted. He holds a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings over the last two seasons. The righty has 33 strikeouts while allowing 15 hits and five walks in that timespan.

Franklin is certainly a name to watch. He's going to be one of the better prospects in the Cardinals system by the end of the season, especially if he can continue improving his offspeed stuff.