Josh Banks

2013

There was no outlook written for Josh Banks.

2008

Banks was hit hard at Triple-A Syracuse for the second straight year, allowing 192 hits and 22 home runs in 169 innings. He does a poor job keeping the ball on the ground, so there's little solace in his low walk rates when hitters are ringing doubles all over the park. Kind of like Josh Towers 2.0, only much less likely to receive the multi-year contract that the 1.0 version did.

2007

Banks was cuffed around pretty good at Triple-A Syracuse, struggling to keep the ball in the park with 35 homers allowed in 170.2 innings. He pounds the strike zone, posting a nice 126:28 K:BB rate, but he simply doesn't have the stuff to get away with too many mistakes. Being a back-end starter for a year or two, like Pete Walker, figures to be his ceiling.

2006

Banks continued to impress in 2005, showing excellent control at Double-A New Hampshire. He'll start the year at Triple-A Syracuse and could see time in the majors by the time the year is out. He's the best upper-level pitching prospect Toronto has now that Dustin McGowan has made his debut.

2005

A second-rounder for Toronto in the 2003 draft, Banks showed stellar control at Single-A Dunedin before being promoted. While his Double-A ERA didn't impress, his control continued to demonstrate his promise. (He yielded a home run every six innings, which resulted in the higher than expected ERA.) There's potential here if he can stay healthy and handle the jump to Triple-A Syracuse. His fall league performance was strong.

2004

The Jays’ 2003 second round pick from Florida International U could be the real deal. Thought to be a potential first-rounder he was inconsistent in his draft year and fell to the second round. He’s a stereotypical power pitcher featuring a sinker that he can bring in the low90s, a fastball that he works at 92-94 mph, a hard slider, a split-finger, and a developing changeup. The knock is that the fastball tends to flatten out but he could use it in combination with his sinker to advantage He could be projected as a quality No. 2 if everything pans out. It’s expected he’ll find his way to high Single-A and the Florida State League in 2004 and could be as high as Triple-A at some time in 2005.