POMONA, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona's
J.J. Franklin traveled to Hawaii this summer but the focus wasn't sightseeing or hanging out at the beach.
Instead, Franklin aimed to become a better pitcher while competing for the Hawaii Aliis of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League. Not only did he strengthen his own skills but he also guided the Aliis' squad to a league championship.
Among the team's top five starting pitchers, Franklin sported the lowest earned run average through the season at 3.12. He threw 40.1 innings and held opposing hitters to a .259 batting average.
With those impressive statistics, Franklin earned a spot on
Hawaii League Top 15 Prospects List as released by Perfect Game in late August. Nearly all of the other prospects on the list come from Division I programs.
A 6-foot-5 righthander from Chino, Franklin will enter his sophomore season in 2013. As a freshman in 2012, he totaled 17 innings and struck out 10 batters.
Several other Broncos played well over the summer and one of them actually competed for the same team as Franklin. Glendora native
Brennen Salgado gave the Aliis quite a boost on offense as he totaled eight doubles and four triples to lead the team in extra-base hits.
