Luke French
Luke French | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Salina, Kansas, U.S. | September 13, 1985|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
May 15, 2009, for the Detroit Tigers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 1, 2010, for the Seattle Mariners | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 9–12 |
Earned run average | 4.99 |
Strikeouts | 79 |
Teams | |
Lucas Stephen French (born September 13, 1985) is an American former professional
Born in
With Seattle, French replaced Washburn in the
Early life
Luke was born to Greg and Colleen French on September 13, 1985, in
French was selected to play in the inaugural Aflac All-America High School Baseball Classic on August 23, 2003 at
The Aflac All American was very special to me. To be recognized as one of the top players in the country was a great honor. But not only that I got to see where I stood as a baseball player. Playing against the greatest players in the country at the highest level on national TV was a true test for me.
At the end of his senior year, French was drafted by the
Professional career
Detroit Tigers
In 2004, French began his
French spent all of 2006 with West Michigan. Used exclusively as a starter in his 26 appearances, he had an 11–8 record, a 3.72 ERA, 94 strikeouts, and 156 hits allowed in 157+1⁄3 innings pitched.[6] His 11 wins tied with three other starters for seventh in the Midwest League, and his 157+1⁄3 innings pitched ranked sixth.[7]
For the 2007 season, French spent the whole year with Lakeland. He finished second in the FSL with 14 losses (behind Zach Ward with 17), tied for second with 27 starts (tied with three others behind Tyler Norrick's 28), and finished fourth with 149 innings pitched (behind Norrick's 165+1⁄3,
French earned a promotion to the
In 2009, French began the year with the
I'm getting an opportunity to live out the dream, and it's surreal. You get to be on a card. And my friend who is really into fantasy baseball said, 'I'm picking you up in my league.' That's cool.
— Luke French, mlive.com, May 16, 2009[2]
He made his major league debut on May 15 in the 9th inning of a 14–1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.[11] French appeared in one more game before being optioned back to Toledo on May 21 after Robertson returned from the disabled list.[12][13]
At Toledo, French went 4–4 with a 2.98 ERA in 13 games (all starts).
Seattle Mariners
Though they led the AL Central through the 2009 season's first four months, the Tigers wanted some help for their rotation as they sought to make the playoffs.[18] On July 31, 2009, French and prospect Mauricio Robles were traded to the Seattle Mariners for Jarrod Washburn.[1] The trade brought French to the team he rooted for as a kid:
When I was in the fifth grade, I made a time line about where you want to be in the future and it was on my time line that I wanted to play for the Mariners. So this is pretty cool. The Mariners were my favorite team...I was a big fan of theirs.
French replaced Washburn in Seattle's rotation and won his first start for the Mariners. In his August 5 debut, he gave up four runs over five innings but again defeated the Royals in an 11–6 victory.[19] On August 15, he was the losing pitcher in a 5–2 defeat by the New York Yankees, but all four runs French allowed were unearned, the result of a Franklin Gutiérrez error in the second inning.[20] After he started for the Mariners on September 5, manager Don Wakamatsu moved him to the bullpen so the team could use Brandon Morrow in the starting rotation.[21] French was only used once the rest of the year, on September 19.[12] In eight games (seven starts) for Seattle, he had a 3–3 record, a 6.63 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 54 hits allowed in 38 innings. His combined totals between Seattle and Detroit were a 4–5 record, a 5.21 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and 87 hits allowed in 67+1⁄3 innings.[1]
In 2010, French started the season with Tacoma, where he had a 6–2 record and a 1.93 ERA (second in the league) through June 6. On that day, he was recalled by the Mariners to work out of the bullpen when
After
I'm aware of the game but I'm not trying to get a no-hitter by any means...No-hit stuff was not really what I'm going for. I'm going for keeping the team in the game, make my pitches and get better every time out there.
— Luke French, ESPN, September 4, 2010.[29]
His season ended poorly, as he gave up eight runs in four innings on October 1 against the Oakland Athletics in what ESPN called "the worst of his 13 [2010] starts for the Mariners."[30] French glumly reviewed his performance, saying, "All I can say is it wasn't my night. It's going to happen. It's not very fun, not the way you want to end the season."[30]
In 17 starts for Tacoma in 2010, French had an 11–3 record, a 2.94 ERA, 63 strikeouts, and 109 hits allowed in 113+1⁄3 innings pitched.[6] Though he only made 17 starts for Tacoma, his 11 wins tied with six others for fifth in the league. Additionally, his .786 winning percentage was the third-highest among starters with at least 100 innings pitched in the PCL.[31] In 16 games (13 starts) with Seattle, he had a 5–7 record, a 4.83 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and 88 hits allowed in 87+2⁄3 innings.[1]
French participated in spring training in 2011 for the Mariners, competing for a long relief spot in the bullpen. He was sent to Tacoma at the end of spring training.[32] On August 13, 2011, French was designated for assignment by the Mariners to allow Wily Mo Peña onto the team's 40-man roster.[33] In 26 starts for Tacoma, he had a 9–9 record, a 6.27 ERA, and 81 strikeouts in 146+1⁄3 innings.[6] He ranked among PCL leaders in runs allowed (115, second to Alan Johnson's 118), earned runs allowed (102, second to Johnson's 109 and Chris Seddon's 104), and hits allowed (196, fifth in the PCL).[34] The Mariners allowed him to become a free agent after the season.[6]
Minnesota Twins organization
French signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on January 27, 2012.[1] He split the season between the Eastern League's New Britain Rock Cats and the International League's Rochester Red Wings. In nine starts for New Britain, he had a 4–1 record, a 2.10 ERA, 27 strikeouts, and 35 hits allowed in 55+2⁄3 innings.[6] With Rochester, he appeared in 19 games, 14 of which were starts. He had a 1–5 record, a 6.42 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and 90 hits allowed in 74+1⁄3 innings.[6] On November 3, he became a free agent.[1]
Further biography
Before he reached the
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Luke French Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Kornacki, Steve (May 16, 2009). "Luke French living out a 'dream' with Tigers". mlive.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Street, Jim (August 2, 2009). "Playing for Mariners a dream for French". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Lipson, Ben. "Top Prospect Alert Interview: Luke French -- Detroit Tigers". topprospectalert.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ ""Louisville Slugger's" Pre-Season H.S. All-American Baseball Teams". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. January 23, 2004. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Luke French Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "2006 Midwest League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "2007 Florida State League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "2008 Eastern League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Beck, Jason (May 14, 2009). "Robertson placed on 15-day DL". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tigers 14, Athletics 1: Boxscore". ESPN. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Luke French 2009 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Iott, Chris (May 21, 2009). "Nate Robertson activated; Magglio Ordonez expected to return to lineup Friday". mlive.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Beck, Jason (June 28, 2009). "Fígaro sent down, French to start Friday". MLB.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins Box Score, July 3, 2009". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ a b "Chone Figgins, Ryan Langerhans get best of Zack Greinke, Royals". ESPN. Associated Press. August 7, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit 3, Kansas City 1: Boxscore". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tigers acquire Washburn for 2 pitchers". ESPN. July 31, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals Box Score, August 5, 2009". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees at Seattle Mariners Box Score, August 15, 2009". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Angels continue to roll, top Mariners at home". Fox Sports. September 10, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Johns, Greg (June 6, 2010). "Fatigued Fister placed on DL; French called up". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Luke French 2010 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Ludwick, Cardinals bounce back". Fox Sports. June 14, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Luke French". MLB.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020. (Note: For transaction info, may need to click "more" under transactions section)
- ^ Larue, Larry (July 28, 2010). "Luke French is back, Rowland-Smith to the DL". The News-Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Luke French outduels Kevin Millwood as Mariners blank Orioles". ESPN. Associated Press. August 17, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "M's escape sweep after fielding gaffes cost Twins". ESPN. Associated Press. August 29, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "Luke French flirts with no-hitter as Mariners blank Indians". ESPN. Associated Press. September 4, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "Daric Barton's two homers back Trevor Cahill as A's win rout". ESPN. Associated Press. October 2, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "2010 Pacific Coast League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Salk, Mike (April 4, 2011). "Luke French Sent Down, What Does it Mean?". My Northwest. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ Mennella, Dan (August 13, 2011). "Mariners Designate Luke French For Assignment". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
- ^ "2011 Pacific Coast League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)