Franklin, Moore named to ‘Baseball America’ preseason All-American team

Baseball America has named Christian Franklin and Robert Moore to their preseason all-american second team as selected by scouting departments from Major League Baseball.

Franklin returns for his third season on The Hill and is regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation. His 2020 season was off to an incredible start, hitting .381 with a team-best 21 runs scored, eight extra-base hits and 11 RBI in the Razorbacks’ first 16 games.

He started every game in center field after manning left field as a freshman in 2019 when he hit .274 with six home runs and 34 RBI to earn SEC All-Freshman honors.

The preseason honor from Baseball America adds to the list for Franklin, who has already been named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game (first team) and D1Baseball.com (first team).

Moore enrolled early at midterm prior to the 2020 season and started all 16 games as a 17-year-old freshman. He hit .317 with 10 runs scored and 11 RBI before the season was cut short due to the pandemic.

His 20 hits ranked second among freshmen in the SEC while his batting average and RBI were the third-most among the league’s freshmen.

Moore was an immediate impact earning SEC Player of the Week and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors in just the second week of the season after hitting .667 with nine RBI.

Last month, Moore was named a third team preseason all-american by D1Baseball.com.

No. 14 Arkansas is set to open the 2021 season in Arlington, Texas, at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown Tournament at Globe Life Field on Feb. 19 against No. 3 Texas Tech.

The Razorbacks’ home opener is set for Thursday, Feb. 25 against Southeast Missouri State at 3 p.m.