Minor league closer is one step away from joining the White Sox in MLB

The Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, announced a series of roster moves prior to Tuesday night’s game. 

The pitching staff in Charlotte got a serious shake up, with some additions coming through the waiver wire and promotions for deserving prospects. 

Caleb Freeman and Adisyn Coffey were both demoted to the Double-A level. Elvis Peguero was added to Charlotte’s roster after being claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week.

Zach Franklin, a 26-year-old relief pitcher who has been the closer for the Double-A Birmingham Barons most of the 2025 season, was promoted to Triple-A and is now just one step away from joining the White Sox.

White Sox took a chance on Zach Franklin in 2023

Franklin might be 26 years old, but he has not been in the White Sox organization for very long. 

He was selected in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Missouri and signed for an underslot $10,000 bonus. Franklin played six total years of college baseball. For the first five, he was at Western Carolina, a low-level Division-I program in the Southern Conference. 

In 2019, Franklin took a medical red shirt, and in 2020, a COVID-shortened season gave him an extra year of eligibility. 

While Franklin’s 7.45 ERA in his one season at Mizzou was rough, the White Sox took an easy $10,000 gamble on a profile that missed a lot of bats, but also gave up loud contact. 

Franklin featured two different mid-90s fastballs, a split-changeup, and a deceptive hybrid breaking ball. 

Franklin has moved through the minor leagues quickly 

Franklin unsurprisingly got knocked around in Kannapolis after signing with the White Sox in 2023. 

2024 was his first full professional season. It was also the year he turned the corner as a professional pitcher. In 40.2 innings with High-A Winston-Salem, Franklin struck out 58 batters and posted a 3.76 ERA. That production earned him a shot in Birmingham to close out the year, and he was even better for the Barons with a 0.90 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 10 innings. 

In 2025, now 26 years old, Franklin has been leaned on as the primary closer for a Birmingham Barons team that has been rolling to a 62-40 record. 

Franklin started the year getting a lot of multi-inning looks, but ever since Peyton Pallette was promoted to Triple-A, he has been the high-leverage arm for manager Guillermo Quiroz to turn to in the Barons’ bullpen. 

In 35 appearances and 42 innings this season, Franklin is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 60 strikeouts. He has 10 saves without a single blown save opportunity. Franklin’s FIP and xFIP are also the lowest of his pro career. 

When he first signed with the White Sox two years ago, Franklin seemed like a longshot to ever amount to anything in professional baseball. It hasn’t taken long for the White Sox to refine his pitch arsenal and turn him into a high-leverage minor league arm that generates a ton of swings-and-misses. 

Zach Franklin has come a long way from that sky-high ERA at Missouri and $10,000 signing bonus.

With Franklin officially added to the roster for Triple-A Charlotte, he’s now one level away from making his MLB debut. If the early returns are good following the promotion, a September call up is not out of the question. 

Franklin is firmly in the mix with Payton Palette, Wikelman González, Jairo Iriarte, and Chase Plymell as minor league relief arms to watch out for on the South Side in the near future.