René Franke

René Franke (Shorty)

• Bats Left, Throws Left

• Born April 2, 1985 in Strausberg Germany

René Franke is the brother of Michael Franke, who was the first German minor leaguer in over four decades. René Franke debuted in the Bundesliga in 2003 with the Paderborn Untouchables, tossing four shutout innings. He moved to the Heidenheim Heideköpfe in 2004 and was 4-4 with a 7.33 ERA; playing left field when not pitching, he hit .213/.387/.213. He gave up a league-high 54 earned runs. Back with Paderborn in '05, he was 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA; he was 9th in ERA and tied for 4th in wins.

Franke was 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA in reduced action for the 2006 Untouchables. Joining the Mannheim Tornadoes in 2007, he hit .250/.275/.271 and was 2-3 with a 6.87 ERA. He batted .286/.338/.339 in '08 and had a 1-2, 2.21 record. He spent the winter in South Africa with the Bothasig Knights Baseball Club alongside Jared Elario, Justin Lazarus and Kyle Botha. Franke began 2009 as one of Germany's top hurlers and was put on Germany's preliminary 40-man roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup.

Source: German Baseball and Softball Federation