Christian Franklin

As of early June, Franklin was hitting below .300 (.294), but like the rest of his teammates he dominated opponents by drawing walks and hitting for power. Franklin’s power/speed combo is even more alluring now that he’s answered some of the questions that once surrounded his ability in center field. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound center fielder is an average runner who takes a while to get to top speed (and his big swing means he generally turns in 4.35-second times to first), but he is excellent at leaving his feet and is fearless going back on balls to the wall. He’s an above-average defender who also has an above-average, accurate arm. At the plate, Franklin uses the entire field well, with above-average power and the ability to turn on fastballs on the inner half. He has a modest timing step, getting his foot down consistently on time. When he gets a ball to pull, he does an excellent job of using his lower half, generating excellent exit velocities. Franklin recognizes and feasts on changeups in the zone as well. He proved vulnerable to chasing sliders down and away in the zone, but if pitchers get greedy, he will lay off of them if they go far out of the zone. Franklin can be beaten in the zone, but he rarely expands to chase pitches out of it, especially when he gets into two-strike counts. Franklin’s well-rounded skill set and three years of production for Arkansas make him a pretty safe pick, and he has enough power and plate discipline to make a solid MLB impact as well.