Tanner Pierce Banks (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 18th round of the
2014 MLB draft
The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...
, and made his MLB debut in 2022.
Career
Chicago White Sox
Banks was drafted by the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
in the 18th round, with the 528th overall selection, of the
2014 Major League Baseball draft
The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...
. Banks made his professional debut with the rookie-level
Arizona League White Sox
The Arizona Complex League White Sox are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compos ...
and also appeared in 1 game for the Single-A
Kannapolis Intimidators
Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte, and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. ...
. In 2015, Banks split the year between Kannapolis and the rookie-level
Great Falls Voyagers
The Great Falls Voyagers are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Great Falls, Montana, and play their home games at Cente ...
, logging a 5–5 record and 2.71 ERA in 22 total contests. The following year, Banks split time between Kannapolis and the High-A
Winston-Salem Dash
The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...
, pitching to a 12–7 record and 3.50 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 159 innings pitched across 27 starts. Banks played the 2017 season with Winston-Salem and the Double-A
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...
, posting a 10–11 record and 4.28 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 26 games (25 of them starts). In 2018, Banks returned to the two affiliates and recorded a 12–7 record and 2.59 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 146 innings of work across 23 starts.
Banks split the 2019 season between Double-A Birmingham and the Triple-A
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...
, accumulating a 6–7 record and 4.19 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 30 appearances (21 of them starts). Banks did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He spent the 2021 season with Triple-A Charlotte, logging a 4.53 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched across 25 total appearances. Banks was invited to Spring Training for the 2022 season, and was initially reassigned to minor league camp prior to the season. However, on April 5, 2022, it was announced that Banks had made Chicago's Opening Day roster. He was formally selected to the 40-man roster on April 7.
On April 10, Banks made his MLB debut, pitching the final two innings of a 10–1 victory of the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
. Banks did not allow a run and collected four strikeouts in the game. In 35 games during his rookie campaign, Banks compiled a 2–0 record and 3.06 ERA with 49 strikeouts across 53 innings pitched.
Banks made 32 appearances for the White Sox in 2023, recording a 4.43 ERA with 51 strikeouts across 61 innings of work. Banks began the 2024 campaign in Chicago's
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...
, working to a 4.13 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 2
saves over 48 innings.
Philadelphia Phillies
On July 30, 2024, Banks was traded to the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
in exchange for minor league infielder William Bergolla.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Tanner
1991 births
Living people
Arizona League White Sox players
Baseball players from Utah
Birmingham Barons players
Charlotte Knights players
Chicago White Sox players
Glendale Desert Dogs players
Great Falls Voyagers players
Kannapolis Intimidators players
Major League Baseball pitchers
People from Riverton, Utah
Philadelphia Phillies players
Sportspeople from Salt Lake County, Utah
Utah Utes baseball players
Willmar Stingers players
Winston-Salem Dash players