Josh Banks

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.

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.

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.

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.