HAMMOND – After a stellar two-year career that saw him set the school record for saves while earning All-America notice, Southeastern Louisiana University pitcher
Chris Franklin was selected in the 12th round by the San Diego Padres in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Franklin, a right-hander from Oneonta, Ala., went 8-7 on the mound with a 3.87 earned run average and seven saves for Southeastern and was a first-team All-Southland Conference performer. The former Jefferson State (Ala.) Community College product helped Southeastern to 77 wins – the Lions best two-year total in school history that was highlighted by a 40-19 record in 2010.
The selection of Franklin, the No. 364 pick in the draft, marked the seventh consecutive season a Lion was drafted – a list that includes first-round compensatory pick Wade Miley (2008, Arizona Diamondbacks), fourth-round selection Chris Province (2007, Boston Red Sox) and 10th-round pick Randy Roth (2005, St. Louis Cardinals).
“It’s just a dream come true,” Franklin said of his chance to play professional baseball. “I got a little nervous waiting for the phone call, but when I saw my name on the (draft tracker) computer, that was a big sigh of relief. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
In his inaugural season with the Lions, Franklin went 5-2 with a 2.60 earned run average and a single-season record 12 saves. He finished tied for the Southland Conference lead and was No. 17 nationally in saves among Division I pitchers and was later named a third-team All-America selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The right-hander finished the 2010 season tied with teammate Brandon Efferson tied for the team-lead in victories while he led the Lions in strikeouts (82), complete games (3) and games finished (24). Franklin became the first Lion pitcher to be selected to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
“It’s a tremendous honor for a player like Chris Franklin to get drafted,” Southeastern head coach Jay Artigues said. “He’s a guy with a big time arm and a great slider and he’s such a fierce competitor. He’s going to have a chance to move up in the Padres’ system.
“Having Chris being drafted high as a pitcher, it speaks a lot about the type of program and the job that (assistants) Justin Hill and Matt Riser have done in helping build our program.”
After spending the first half of the season primarily in the bullpen, Franklin earned a start on April 25 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and earned a complete-game victory, allowing four hits and fanning seven. That began a streak of three straight complete-game victories for Franklin who went 4-1 with a 4.29 ERA as a starter.