Luke French

Lucas Stephen French (born September 13, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Luke was born to Greg and Colleen French on September 13, 1985, in Salina, Kansas.

He grew up rooting for the Seattle Mariners, listing Ken Griffey Jr.., Randy Johnson, and Jay Buhner among his favorite players.

At Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, he played football, basketball, and baseball.

After his freshman year, he stopped playing football to focus more on baseball; then after his sophomore year, he quit basketball for the same reason.

As a senior, he was a Louisville Slugger Preseason High School All-American selection.

French was selected to play in the inaugural Aflac All-America High School Baseball Classic on August 23, 2003 at Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers, Florida.

He said this about the experience:

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.

He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

At the end of his senior year, French was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.

In 2004, French began his minor league career with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Tigers.

In 11 games (10 starts), he had a 1–3 record, a 2.74 earned run average (ERA), 49 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 49 1⁄3 innings pitched.

French split the next season between the GCL Tigers, the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League, and the Single-A advanced Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League (FSL).

In 12 starts among all three, he had a 5–3 record, a 5.45 ERA, 50 strikeouts, and 87 hits allowed in 67 2⁄3 innings pitched.

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.

His 11 wins tied with three other starters for seventh in the Midwest League, and his 157 1⁄3 innings pitched ranked sixth.

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, Drew Carpenter's 163, and Brandon Magee's 156 2⁄3) in 2007.

French earned a promotion to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves in 2008.

He went 9–11 with a 4.02 ERA in 27 games (26 starts).

French led the Eastern League with 170 innings pitched and 195 hits allowed, while he tied Brad Bergesen and Magee for the lead with three complete games, finished second with the same amount of losses as four other starters (11, behind Magee's 13), and gave up the fifth-most walks in the league (60, tied for fifth with Kyle Aselton).

French debuted with the Tigers in 2009, then played with the Seattle Mariners in 2009 and 2010.

Born in Kansas, French attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, where he was a Louisville Slugger Preseason High School All-American in his senior year.

Drafted by the Tigers, he spent the next several years in their minor league system before making his debut with the team in 2009.

He won his first game in the major leagues on July 9, then was traded to the Mariners on July 31 as part of a deal that brought Jarrod Washburn to Detroit to help the Tigers try to win the American League Central Division.

With Seattle, French replaced Washburn in the starting rotation.

He had more wins that year with them than he did in Detroit, but his earned run average (ERA) was higher.

In 2009, French began the year with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens of the International League.

He was called up to the Tigers on May 14, 2009, when Nate Robertson was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 6.

In 2010, he split the year between the Mariners and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, though after Ryan Rowland-Smith was placed on the disabled list on July 28, he spent the rest of the year in the Mariners' starting rotation.

Twice, he took a no-hitter through five innings.

At Tacoma, he tied for fifth in the Pacific Coast League in wins despite only pitching half the season for them; in Seattle, he had a 5–7 record and a 4.83 ERA.

French would never appear in a Major League Baseball game again after 2010.

He spent all of 2011 with Tacoma, where his ERA was 6.27.

Allowed to become a free agent after the season, he pitched one final season in the Minnesota Twins organization in 2012.