SOUTH BEND ― Kohl Franklin arrived in South Bend at 11 p.m. Monday, May 5.
By 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, he was pitching in a game for the South Bend Cubs, the high-A minor league affiliate for MLB’s Chicago Cubs.
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Despite his body still adjusting from being in Arizona’s Pacific time zone to Indiana’s Eastern one ― “basically an 8 a.m. game for me,” Franklin admitted ― there was no place he would rather be in that moment.
For the first time in 13 months, Franklin was pitching in a professional baseball game.
“Oh, dude, it’s amazing. It’s a blessing,” Franklin said. “I’m very thankful to be back playing. It was a long journey, but God is good, and I’m just super fired up to be back.”
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Rising star to out for a year
After pitching four perfect innings for the Chicago Cubs’ double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, to start the 2024 season, Franklin was promoted to triple-A Iowa. He was one step away from realizing his dream of becoming a Major League player.
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That dream lasted just two-plus innings. In a game against the St. Paul Saints on April 13, 2024, Franklin threw an 0-1 slider and immediately grabbed his right arm.
“It felt like somebody had stuck a taser into my funny bone,” Franklin said.
The diagnosis afterwards wasn’t a shock: Franklin had torn the UCL muscle in his elbow straight off the bone. While this did not require Tommy John surgery, another procedure took place involving doctors putting an internal brace in his elbow, helping the UCL reconnect to his forearm.
“It didn’t really hit me until everyone walked out of the trainer’s room after the doctor said he was worried about my UCL,” Franklin said. “I FaceTimed my mom, and as soon as I saw her face, I started bawling.
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“It was very tough, mentally, knowing everything was feeling good ― I was on a very good trajectory, so to be derailed by an injury is always tough.”
Franklin has had an up-and-down career because of injuries. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Cubs despite missing his senior season of high school with a foot issue. He missed all of 2021 with various injuries as well, meaning he actually missed two years in a row because of the COVID-19 pandemic canceling all minor league baseball in 2020.
When he’s been healthy, he’s reached as high as the No. 7 prospect in the Chicago Cubs farm system. He was on the 2022 South Bend Cubs team that won the Midwest League championship.
South Bend Cubs pitcher Kohl Franklin (16) delivers pitch in the first inning during the South Bend Cubs-Beloit Sky Carp baseball game on Friday, April 22, 2022, at Four Winds Field in South Bend, Indiana.
The 2024 injury was just another setback in his journey.
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“I feel like everything happens for a reason, and any situation you go through as a person gives you room to grow,” Franklin said. “In a way, I’m thankful I was able to go through it.”
Getting his career back on track
Franklin pitched the first two innings May 7. The game was a special 11:05 a.m. start because it was “Education Day.” More than 6,000 students, teachers and school staff packed into Four Winds Field on an early Wednesday morning for the occasion.
The final stat line for Franklin looked like someone throwing his first competitive game in 13 months: four hits allowed, three runs (all earned), three walks and only one strikeout.
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“It felt insane,” Franklin said. “I was very nervous, actually. Coming off an injury, you’re still fully getting back and trusting everything. It felt great to step on the mound and feel how everything is supposed to feel. It felt very quick, not going to lie — the game felt super quick and sped up on me a little bit.”
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Franklin is unsure what his timeline will be during his rehab process. The goal is to get back to triple-A as soon as possible, with hopes of fulfilling that MLB dream he was oh-so close to 13 months ago.
“I can’t give enough praise to the people who are around me and in my corner,” Franklin said. “I’m so fired up to be back. It feels good to be back in a competitive nature again and get back to doing what I love. A lot of people would kill for this opportunity, and it’s very easy to take it for granted. That’s one thing I will never do.”
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This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kohl Franklin is back in baseball, on rehab assignment in South Bend