St. Louis Cardinals select Tennessee pitcher Tanner Franklin in 2025 MLB Draft

The St. Louis Cardinals have selected Tennessee right-handed pitcher Tanner Franklin with the No. 72 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Franklin transferred to Tennessee last offseason after spending two years at Kennesaw State.

In his lone campaign with the Volunteers, Franklin made 27 appearances and one start. In 38.2 innings on the mound, Franklin held opponents to a .268 batting average and tallied 52 strikeouts, while only walking nine batters. He finished the year with a 4.89 ERA.

In his two years at Kennesaw State, Franklin amassed 38.1 innings pitched. He racked up 61 strikeouts, 43 of which were in his sophomore season. He posted a 5.60 ERA in the 2024 season and held foes to a .212 batting average.

Tanner Franklin played high school baseball at Jefferson County (TN). He was the No. 92 overall player and No. 36 right-handed pitcher from Tennessee in the 2022 recruiting cycle, according to Perfect Game.

Despite Franklin’s success at Tennessee this past season, some experts are still hesitant to declare him ready for the next level. Ahead of the draft, MLB.com provided an in-depth analysis of Franklin’s game.

“Franklin ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in overall and in-zone swing-and-miss rate with his fastball, no real surprise considering it operates at 94-98 mph and reaches 102 with huge carry and some armside run,” the analysis read. “He also throws one of the hardest cutters in college baseball, averaging 90 mph with a peak of 93, though it doesn’t miss nearly as many bats as his heater. He focuses on his main two pitches, rarely showing a slider or changeup that both sit in the upper 80s.

“The Volunteers have helped Franklin tone down the effort in his delivery, enabling him to slice his walk rate to 6 percent this year, down from 20 percent during his sophomore season. But his command still leaves much to be desired, because he leaves way too many pitches over the fat part of the plate, and his cutter is especially vulnerable when he does. If he can come up with a solid second offering, he might be a closer.”

The draft is July 13-14 in Atlanta during All-Star week. July 13 is the first three rounds, July 14 is rounds 4-20. Day 1 coverage is MLB Network/ESPN starting at 6pm ET. Day 2 coverage is via MLB.com starting at 11:30am ET.