Cubs Prospect Profile: Kohl Franklin |
Sunday was an extremely busy day on both the MLB and MILB fronts for the Chicago Cubs. After the surprising decision of Marcus Stroman not picking up his player option, the Cubs made it a point to pick up the option on Kyle Hendricks, as he will once again return for another season in Chicago. Along with that, the Cubs are also bringing back one of the most important players from a season ago, Yan Gomes, as his option was also picked up to return to Chicago.
Regarding the minor league front, the Cubs were very active and have been extremely busy for the last two weeks. Jared Young was one of the first minor league players to hit free agency, but eight more players joined him on Sunday, including Derek Casey and Michael McAvene. McAvene is the headliner of that group as the former 3rd rounder battled with injuries his entire tenure with the Cubs that took him from a top 30 prospect to not being part of the organization going forward. Best of luck to all these guys on what their future holds, as we all hope they find their way into another MLB organization. Getting back to the current prospect list, No. 28 is also a guy who has dealt with injuries his entire career but does appear to be getting healthy once again. That man is RHP Kohl Franklin, who at one point was the No. 7 prospect in the organization and is now ranked 28th. A big reason for that is just the overall talent the Cubs have put within their organization over the past three seasons, but to see Franklin still a top-30 guy despite the injuries shows you how much talent he still has. Born and raised in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Franklin was one of the top prep pitchers coming out of Oklahoma until a foot injury derailed his senior season. He still managed to be a sixth-round pick back in 2018, but the Cubs were so high on him that they gave him third-round money with a 450K signing bonus. The nephew of former All-Star closer Ryan Franklin, Kohl instantly showed his potential on the mound, but a series of injuries in 2020 and 2021 cost him one season, with COVID derailing the other. In total, Franklin went more than 900 days without throwing a competitive pitch, and the overall results indicate that. After posting a 6.23 ERA in just eight games after being drafted in 2018, Franklin spent time in Eugene and South Bend during the 2019 season and proved to the Cubs front office how good he can be. His 1-3 record across 11 starts is deceiving, as he posted a 2.36 ERA with 19 walks and 52 strikeouts. The future looked bright for the right-hander until the injuries forced him out of action until 2022. Now healthy again, Franklin is finally showing the durability the Cubs hoped for, but the results haven't been great. Franklin has made 49 starts in the past two seasons with South Bend and Tennessee, including 26 in 2023. During that time, Franklin has logged close to 190 innings, but has a record of 7-19 with an ERA close to 6.00. His 91BB is a bit higher than where he would like, but he also is averaging better than one strikeout per inning, as the dominating stuff he showed early on is still there. Next up for Franklin is to improve his overall results, but when it comes to the Cubs, they are trying to figure out if he is better suited as a starter or a relief arm. When you look at his stuff, Franklin sits in the 94-97 MPH range with his heater and has topped out at 99. You can see why the Cubs want him to be a starter long-term, but given that velocity, having him as a multi-inning reliever could be a great option. Along with that heater comes a fading change up at 85; that was his best secondary pitch in high school, but has now fallen into more of his third pitch in the pros. A big reason for that was his development of an 81 MPH knuckle curve that not only has an elite spin rate but has the sharp break you look for in a breaking pitch. That curve has now become his go-to strikeout pitch, and it has made him a better strikeout pitcher in the process. Franklin also has an 85 mph sweeping slider in his repertoire, but he needs to use that more often at this point in his career. Since returning from elbow and shoulder injuries, the overall stuff that Franklin has shown in the past has returned, but the command and location haven't. That shouldn't come as a surprise when you go more than 900 days without throwing a pitch, and I suspect the location will be better in 2024. Franklin had difficulty throwing strikes the past two seasons, and when he couldn't locate his fastball, it became a batting practice type of pitch. The next step in his development is to get back to locating that fastball and throwing his secondary pitches for strikes more consistently. He still flashes mid-rotation upside, but he's also 23 years old with less than 250 innings in his first five years as a pro and may wind up as a multi-inning reliever.
