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OGDEN — Riverton High School product Tanner Banks made his first-ever professional start in his native Utah Wednesday night as the starting pitcher for the Great Falls Voyagers, who took on the Ogden Raptors at Lindquist Field.
The University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College alum's career has put him across the map with stops in North Carolina, Arizona and Montana, but Wednesday's start brought him back home for his first game as a professional.
"We've looked forward to seeing him pitch in Utah," Tanner's father Greg Banks said. "This is a dream come true."
Banks entered Wednesday's contest as one of the Pioneer League's best starting pitchers, holding a 2-0 record and earned run average of 1.77, good for second in the league. He had given up only four earned runs in 20 1/3 innings pitched.
Opponents were hitting a measly .187 against the left-handed Banks, the best such mark for any pitcher in the league.
But his success hasn't been simple. Banks was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2014, an 18th round selection, and was assigned to the rookie Arizona League.
As a starter at SLCC, Banks tossed two complete-game shutouts and another seven-inning no-hitter before going on to pitch for two seasons at Utah. As most teams need twice the number of relief pitchers as starters, Banks, like many draftees, was given a relief role out of college as the White Sox worked to develop a depth of relief pitchers.
We've looked forward to seeing him pitch in Utah. This is a dream come true.
–Greg Banks
Banks found success as a reliever in 2014. In the AZL, he allowed only four earned runs in 22 innings of work. He finished his season with one appearance at single-A Kannapolis, a North Carolina club in the South Atlantic League, and allowed two hits and zero runs in 2 1/3 innings. Opponents hit only .188 against Banks that season.
Knowing the White Sox had an affiliate in Great Falls, Montana, which traveled through Utah, Banks was instead assigned to return back to Kannapolis as a reliever to start the 2015 season, where his success was mild at best, at least compared to 2014. His ERA increased to a moderate 4.09 in 11 relief innings, and Banks was slowly becoming a run-of-the mill left-handed reliever.
A baseball proverb says there's always jobs for left-handed relief pitchers, so it wasn't too precarious of a position — but in mid-June, with the rookie-advanced, short-season Pioneer League about to begin its season — Banks was given a new opportunity: The White Sox were sending him to Great Falls, a slight step below his post in Kannapolis, to transition to becoming a starting pitcher.
"When they told me they wanted me to be a starter, I wasn't really sure how to react," Banks said about his new assignment. "But a lot of people told me there is good opportunity as a starter, and I see that opportunity.
"The transition from a reliever is nice in a sense. You have the opportunity to work on things beyond the one or two innings at a time you throw as a reliever."
His new manager in Great Falls, Cole Armstrong, has been impressed. "It's not the easiest thing to go from a bullpen guy to become a starter mid-season, and he's made a seamless transition," Armstrong said about Banks. "He's been awesome."
"He's done a fantastic job. He's come out every start and competed his butt off, and he's been stronger with every outing. It's been a pleasure to watch."
So Wednesday, with about 65 family members and friends looking on at Lindquist Field in Ogden, Banks held his glove high, his eyes barely visible between its web and the brim of his hat before delivering each of his approximately 60 pitches on the night — and the left-hander lived up to his billing completely.
Banks tossed six innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits and, thanks to a couple strong defensive plays, faced only one batter over the minimum. Somehow, even with his already eye-popping stats as a starter, Banks successfully lowered his ERA to 1.37, now also best in the league, and his batting average-against to .181.
"I couldn't be more proud of my team behind me," Banks said. "We had a couple great catches in the outfield and some tough ground balls. My catcher (Casey) Schroeder was behind the plate doing a great job. I'm just a piece of the puzzle. My team has done a wonderful job."
With his start in the books, his parents beamed. "I'm just proud of him. I'm always proud of him," his mother, Shawn, said, pausing as the special nature of the night seemed to come into full reality. "He did what was asked of him tonight, and we're proud of him."
His father, Greg, saw Tanner's great performance as a continuation of his son's development as a pitcher.
"I've seen his confidence get better over time. Everything is crisper, his curveball is tighter, his fastball is quicker," his father said. "But he's matured as a player in that he's become more confident in what he does. Instead of worrying about striking guys out, he just gets ground balls and it's working well for him."
In his six-inning gem Wednesday, Banks struck out only one batter, but walked none in the same consistent, steady approach upon which his team relies.
"He's very sure of himself, very confident and he has a plan every time he goes out there," Armstrong said. "Every hitter that comes up, he has a plan on how to get that guy out. And that shows, you don't see a lot of ebbs and flows in his starts, he's the same guy from inning one all the way through."
Now with 26 1/3 innings under his belt as a starter, Banks has struck out only 10 batters and walked two, yet sits atop the league's stat leaders for pitchers.
With his Great Falls Voyagers victorious, a 6-2 win over the Ogden Raptors now complete, an upbeat Banks walked the concourse with some of the contingent that traveled north to see him pitch, he too reflecting on the unique opportunity he had just seized.
"You get pre-game jitters, but once you get on the mound it usually goes away," Banks said. "But knowing (family and friends) were sitting right above the dugout and hearing them cheer, every time I walked into the dugout, I couldn't help but smile.
"Having my family support group there and being in my home state and throwing well, it's an amazing thing," Banks continued. "It's cool to travel around and play and live out of hotels. I don't mind it. But it's special to come back and have everybody I haven't seen for so long be there supporting me. It was neat."
With the bats of the Pioneer League unable to touch him, Banks' next stop is sure to be the inaugural Pioneer League/Northwest League All-Star Game in Spokane, Washington, on Aug. 4. Banks is a virtual lock to make the roster — that is, if the White Sox don't promote him back up the minor league ladder first. Brett Hein covers minor league baseball and prep sports for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah, and is a senior editor of VanquishTheFoe.com, the BYU team site of SB Nation. Find him on Twitter at @bhein3.
