Tanner Franklin's electric 2026 debut has Cardinals fans drooling over his potential

Tanner Franklin is ready to break out in a huge way for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2026, and fans are losing their minds after his electric debut on Friday night.

All spring long, Franklin's stock began to balloon as it became clear just how high the Cardinals were on their 2026 draft pick. Selected 72nd overall out of the University of Tennessee, Franklin boasts incredible stuff, but his usage as a reliever for the Volunteers had some concerned about his outlook as a starter. The Cardinals fell in love with his profile and have every intention of helping him reach his potential as a starting pitcher.

And boy, is that potential sky-high.

Getting the ball for the High-A Peoria Chiefs in game one of their 2026 campaign, Franklin was dominant on the mound, striking out nine batters over 3.2 innings of work, allowing just one hit, two walks, and one earned run in his outing. His fastball sat in the upper-90s all evening and even got up to 100 MPH, and he paired that with nasty offspeed pitches that kept hitters off balance.

Tanner Franklin may have the highest potential of any Cardinals pitching prospect

I do not believe it is hyperbole or an overreaction to say that Franklin has the highest upside of any pitcher in the Cardinals' organization right now. Does that mean he'll be the best of the bunch? Not necessarily, but I do believe he's the one arm in their system who could truly become a number one starter at the highest level.

Franklin has traits you just can't teach and a frame that, if built up correctly, could handle a starter's workload and maintain that elite stuff over the course of lengthy outings. The Cardinals are rightly going to be careful in how they build him up in 2026, but I expect him to be a fast riser on prospect lists and even within the Cardinals system.

As of today, Franklin is the Cardinals' seventh-ranked prospect according to Baseball America and 11th by MLB Pipeline, but I think he has a real argument to be in the club's top five prospects very soon. His fastball is a true 70-grade pitch, and the Cardinals seem very confident in his ability to develop his arsenal further to complement his elite heater.

I'm personally going to be spending a lot of time in Peoria early this year to keep my eyes on Franklin, along with the rest of the Chiefs' roster that is loaded with talent. Rainiel Rodriguez, who is a stud in his own right, hit a bomb in his 2026 debut with Peoria, and names like Tai Peete (who also went deep), Cade McGee, Jesus Baez, Yhoiker Fajardo, Nate Dohm, Blake Aita, and so many other fun names make up their current roster. It's going to be a really fun affiliate to follow as the year goes on.

Franklin continues to make his mark early for Cardinals fans, and I only expect that buzz to grow as the weeks and months go by.