Tennessee baseball pitcher posts 0.00 ERA midway through Summer League

Tennessee baseball pitcher Tanner Franklin joined the Chatham Anglers as a pitcher in the Cape Cod Baseball League, a summer collegiate baseball league. He was dominant on the mound this summer.

The Cape Cod League is often regarded as the best summer college baseball league in the country and is home to some of the best and most promising future stars in college baseball.

Franklin earned a spot in the CCBL All-Star Game after an impressive first half of the season. He has thrown 9.2 innings and struck out 14 with zero earned runs, with a 0.00 ERA. That’s an impressive stat line in one of the top collegiate summer leagues in the country.

Franklin is one of a handful of new arms joining the Vols’ 2025 pitching staff via the transfer portal from Kennesaw State. The Jefferson City, Tennessee, native posted a 5.60 ERA in 27.1 innings, striking out 43.

He is a strikeout pitcher and has averaged several strikeouts per inning in the Cape Cod League and the past two seasons at Kennesaw State.

After announcing his decision to leave Kennesaw State, Franklin told 247Sports that he felt Tennessee was the best place for him. “I felt like God was telling me to go there. It’s my home after all. That was the reason for this decision.

“I was looking for a place where I could grow as a person, but also as a player, somewhere that’s fun to play baseball,” Franklin said. “If you look at Tennessee, they have fun every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a practice or a game, whatever it is. They enjoy being there and they’re looking for the same thing. That’s something I was looking for.”

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound right-handed pitcher’s fastball reached 99 miles per hour and his intimidating presence on the mound created dangerous situations.

If he can continue his dominance with the Vols, Tennessee could be gearing up for another trip to Omaha and a second straight appearance in the College World Series.