CLEARWATER, Florida — Even after three years on the varsity baseball team at Riverton High, pitcher Tanner Banks was not able to land a spot on a Division I college roster.
And that was understandable. “I was not ready to make that jump to Division I,” Banks recalled.
Standing on a back field at the Phillies’ spring training complex on a windy Thursday morning, lefty reliever Banks is preparing for his fourth Major League season. He broke in with the White Sox in 2022, then was traded to Philadelphia last summer.
But he said that time in “The Show” may not have happened without two seasons at Salt Lake Community College under coach Dave Nelson.
“DG at Salt Lake was a big influence,” said Banks, wearing a windbreaker and pinstriped pants after a workout with other pitchers. “It taught me a lot about myself. You get your feet wet,” before finishing his last two years of college baseball at the University of Utah.
“He was throwing mid-80s in high school and we shortened up his arm angle and he went up to the low 90s,” Nelson said in a phone interview on Friday. “He was our closer his freshman year. Two things that help him. First, his personality does not change. He is level-headed. Two, he is very intentional about his mechanics.”
Banks, 33, had to overcome the elements growing up in Utah — and some freak injuries.
“The story my father tells me — I was too young to remember — was I would pick up a ball and I would throw it left-handed, I would throw it right-handed. He was not sure if he wanted to pick me a lefty or make me a righty,” Banks said. “He was walking past a garage sale and saw a glove for a lefty-handed thrower and he said, ‘That made my decision.’ He bought the glove and I became a left-handed thrower.
“Over the next couple of years, I broke both of my wrists. I broke my left wrist and I had to learn to do everything right-handed,” he added. “Then I broke my right wrist and I had to learn to do everything left-handed. So, I am a different combination of doing things both ways. I am left-footed. I can shoot a bow and arrow with my left eye. There are just some weird back-and-forth imbalances that would not have occurred if I had not broken both of my wrists.”
Then there was the challenge of not growing up in California, Texas or Florida — like many American big leaguers.
“Obviously the mountains are beautiful and to grow up in the mountains was a blessing,” said Banks, who lives in the Salt Lake area in the winter. “But it is cold and temperatures are in the 40s” at times playing outdoors.
Major league feel
To overcome the odds, besides his time under Nelson at SLCC, Banks credits the rise in indoor baseball workout centers in Utah.
“Baseball has come a long way in Utah in the last decade,” Banks said.
And that includes the MountainWest Baseball Academy, where Banks has trained in the past and Bob Keyes is the owner.
“The doors are always open at MountainWest,” said Banks of a facility that dates to the 1980s, according to its website.
“Bob is the ringleader,” Nelson added.
Other pros to utilize the facility include former University of Utah standout Oliver Dunn, who played in 41 games for Milwaukee last season, and Cottonwood High graduate Porter Hodge, who pitched in 41 games out of the bullpen last season for the Chicago Cubs.
Banks also credits former Major League catcher John Buck for his involvement in coaching the sport in Utah after his playing days. A graduate of Taylorsville High, Buck was in the majors from 2004-2014 with several teams and was an All-Star in 2010 with Toronto.
Now, Banks is part of a new generation of big leaguers from the Salt Lake City area.
A lefty with 130 games of MLB experience under his belt, Banks has drawn praise from Philadelphia pitching coach Caleb Cotham.
“He is very curious, he is very in tuned to what he does,” said Cotham, ready to begin his fifth season in that role. “He has worked hard on a changeup all off-season. He understands himself better and how he can get better.”
Up the ladder
Banks worked his way up the White Sox minor league ladder before making his MLB debut on April 10, 2022, against the Tigers. He pitched in 32 games with Chicago in 2023 and appeared in 41 contests for the club last season before being dealt to the Phillies for a minor leaguer.
“There were whispers I was going to get traded, but I was going to play every game the same way,” he said.
Banks was just outside the White Sox clubhouse at the home of the White Sox when he got a call from the former Chicago manager, Pedro Grifol. “I was definitely surprised since it was so close to the deadline,” Banks said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen but it happened.”
But he went from one of the worst teams in modern times to a Philly club that has been a playoff contender for years and won 95 games in 2024.
All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies likes his team’s chances in 2025.
“If the core group of guys here just do our part and get a little better and continue to work, we’re going to be in a good spot at the end of the year,” he told USA Today. Other core guys include first baseman Bryce Harper, shortstop Trea Turner, slugger Kyle Schwarber and starting pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
“I come into the clubhouse here and everyone expects to win. We have a manager that wants to win, we have an owner that wants to win,” Banks said. “It is incredible to be a part of. Everyone knows what the next guy is capable of. It has been an incredible opportunity. It was definitely a big change in scenery and environment.”
And so was the change from Utah to the majors. “It’s a special place for sure,” he said of the Salt Lake region.
“Baseball in Utah is in a good place,” said Nelson, the veteran SLCC coach.
BANK ON IT: Banks made his third appearance of the spring on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless inning in a 17-7 loss to the Tigers on the road in Lakeland. He has allowed one run in three innings this spring ... Banks was traded by the White Sox to the Phillies on July 30, 2024, for minor leaguer William Bergolla … After the trade, lefty pitcher Banks was 0-1 with an ERA of 3.70 in 22 games with one start … Banks pitched in 41 games with Chicago before the trade … In his MLB career, he has pitched in 130 games, with five starts, and has an ERA of 3.86 … Banks played on varsity at Riverton for three years, at Salt Lake Community College for two and for two seasons at the University of Utah. … Banks pitched in one game in the playoffs against the Mets last year and allowed one run in one inning.
Editor’s note: David Driver is the former sports editor of papers in Baltimore and Virginia and covered the Washington Nationals from 2013-2022 for several publications. He is also the co-author of “From Tidewater to the Shenandoah: Snapshots from Virginia’s Rich Baseball History,” available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.