More has been made about Kohl Franklin’s pedigree as his father is an agent and his uncle Ryan pitched for several teams including the Mariners. That’s all going to change over the next 2 to 3 years as Kohl forges his own reputation as a starting pitcher.
One of the highlights of the early season for Eugene so far has been the promise shown by Franklin. I’ve seen two of his starts to date and each time I came away very impressed. The young 19-year-old right hander is beginning his path to the big leagues in an impressive manner.
Basic Info
6‘4“ 195 pounds
Throws – Right
2018 6th Round Pick
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
ETA – 2022/2023
When the Cubs took Kohl Franklin last summer in the 2018 draft, I thought it was a pretty bold pick for an organization that’s not known for taking a lot of high school players, especially pitchers.
The Cubs brought Franklin along pretty slowly after drafting him. I liked that they worked him in small increments last year at Mesa. Being that he already pitched a somewhat full season in high school, the Cubs limited his work time to 8.2 innings. While the month of July was not impressive, he did well in August as he threw 7.1 innings in 3 appearances with a 1.23 ERA. He struck out 6 and hitters only hit .120 against him.
Heading into 2019, I was pretty excited to see him pitch. Considering his age and experience, I had him pegged for Eugene and that’s where he wound up. While he did not get the start on opening night, he did pitch on the second night.
I came away extremely impressed in that first start. He threw his fastball in the mid 90s. He spotted it fairly well. Occasionally, he would get a little wild and it would run to the inside and up on right handed hitters. His changeup looks very promising at 84-85 miles an hour. But what I liked about his change is that it has some nice sink.
His curve is probably the pitch that he is going to be working on most this year. At times, it can get a little loopy. He also needs to take the velocity up as it sits in the mid 70s. To get the most out of his curve, he is going to need to get it into the low 80s to be successful with it. The closer in speed to his change, the better.
Right now, he’s not pitching more than 75 pitches in a game. I like the fact that the Cubs are bringing him on slowly. As a result he’s not gonna see the fifth inning until July when his pitch count goes up to 80.
Franklin is not a number on a speed gun. Kohl has a lot of pitchability to him. He can get in a jams and find his way out. In the second game that he started this year, he got into trouble in the second inning and worked his way out of it because he can strike out guys.
Aside from his curveball development, I’ll also be checking out his efficiency over his next few starts to see if he can get deeper in games. Hopefully, he can use fewer pitches and maybe see the fifth inning once or twice before his pitch count increases. I’d like to see him get 70 to 75 innings this summer. But it’s looking more like 50 to 60 innings might be his range.
I think there’s good cause to be excited about Kohl. For a 19-year-old kid, there’s a lot a projection in his 6’4″ frame and poise to his pitching style. I look forward to watching him pick up a baseball every sixth day this summer. It’s gonna be fun.
Cubs Central 