MESA, Ariz. – A crowd formed around Field 5 at the Cubs’ Sloan Park spring training facilities, where Kohl Franklin was facing batters for the first time this year, a big step in his recovery from an oblique injury.
His was the last simulated game of the day, so his teammates filled the bleachers. Behind the backstop, coaches gathered pitch data. Cubs vice president of pitching Craig Breslow and major-league pitching coach Tommy Hottovy looked on.
Franklin’s final pitch cracked in the catcher’s mitt, and the sea of blue dispersed, buzzing.
“Well, Kohl looks pretty good,” one prospect said to another.