Cardinals May Have Found Future Ace in This 6'5'' Prospect

Over the course of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals were praised left and right for their high-octane farm system.

Before the 2026 season, the Cardinals traded Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras and restocked the farm system with elite prospects, like Jurrangelo Cijntje and Brandon Clarke, among others. Throughout the season, there was a spotlight on the trade additions, as well as guys like Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle, Joshua Baez and Leo Bernal. One guy who went under the radar, but who should have the attention of Cardinals fans, is 22-year-old flamethrower Tanner Franklin.

While Franklin may not have gotten the same buzz as guys like Doyle or Cijntje, he is the Cardinals' No. 6 overall prospect and Baseball America made a bold claim and said that he may have the "best starter stuff" of any pitcher down in the minors right now.

"After featuring prominently in the fastball Stuff+ rankings, Cardinals right-hander Tanner Franklin is again ranking highly with his cutter," Baseball America's Geoff Pontes wrote. "It’s possible that Franklin has the best starter stuff of any pitcher in the minors. The cutter is his top secondary, and it sits around 91 mph, can get up to 97 and has true cut-ride shape. The pitch generated a 13.7 percent swinging-strike rate and a .299 xwOBA in 2026."

The 2025 Second-Rounder Looks Like A Star

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Tanner Franklin — Tennessee's Tanner Franklin (50) pitches against Wake Forest at the NCAA college baseball Knoxville Regional final on June 2, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Now that's some lofty praise, to say the least.

Franklin didn't come over to the organization in some sort of blockbuster trade, like Cijntje. So, the spotlight was even brighter on Cijntje as the club tries to see what it has in the young switch-pitcher. Rodriguez and Doyle are the Cardinals' top two prospects, which comes with a lot of notoriety in itself. Baez and Bernal were close to making the jump to the big leagues, which fans were paying attention to.

Franklin may not have been talked about as much as some of the other prospects on the Cardinals' list, he was great in 2026. The 2025 second-rounder made 25 starts across High-A and Double-A and finished the season with a 3.94 ERA and a ridiculous 133-to-45 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 105 innings pitched.

The thing that was most impressive was the fact that he actually pitched better once he was promoted to Double-A. In six starts with Double-A Springfield, Franklin had a 3.34 ERA and a 42-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 32 1/3 innings pitched. In High-A, he had a 4.21 ERA in 19 starts.

Cardinals fans should be excited about this guy. He has great size at 6'5'' and 240 pounds, is just 22 years old and clearly has fans around the league. The 2027 rotation is a bit up in the air beyond Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy. Franklin is someone fans should pay attention to in Spring Training.

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