MAURICE BANKSTON

6/17/87; '07 8th; Texarkana (TX) CC
R/R; 6-4, 205

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9
K/9
WHIP
OAVG
ERA
2007 NJCAA
7-4-0
13
 
70.0
73
  
35
51
 4.5
6.6
1.54
 
3.99
2007 R
0-2-0
2
0
2.2
3
 0
0
3
 0.0
10.2
1.13
.250
3.38
2008 A-
0-5-0
9
7
35.0
41
2
12
19
3.1
4.9
1.51
.287
6.69
2009 A
1-4-0
9
9
43.1
48
3
16
25
3.3
5.2
1.48
.284
4.98
2009 A-
2-4-0
9
9
50.0
54
2
5
25
0.9
4.5
1.18
.271
2.34

Bankston signed a letter of intent with the University of Louisiana Monroe and the ULM coach stated rather wistfully in a newspaper article that Bankston might sign if drafted in the early rounds. Evidently, the 8th round was early enough, as Bankston signed. Ironically, ULM's two big signees for 2008 were Bankston and Devin Copley, whom the Pirates earlier signed as part of their last crop of DFEs. (As an aside, the Pirates released Copley before the 2008 season, after he'd pitched in just two GCL games. That means he gave up his Division I eligibility to pitch four innings in rookie ball, which is pretty sad.) Bankston doesn't appear to have played for Texarkana in 2006 and I can't find any indication of where he was. His 2007 stats are not impressive, but that could be a product of the environment he was playing in, as his teammates ran up some high batting averages. He throws a low 90s fastball and a slider.

The Pirates sent him to the GCL but he pitched in only two games. In 2008, he pitched in the State College rotation until he went on the DL with a shoulder problem at the beginning of August. He obviously struggled, although the rest of his numbers weren't quite as bad as the ERA. He opened 2009 in the West Virginia rotation and didn't pitch either especially well or especially badly. He went down to State College and joined the Spikes' rotation, until he went on the DL in early August. He pitched much better than the previous year, mainly because he walked very few batters. His K rate remained very low at both 2009 levels. He'll probably get another shot at low A in 2010.

Right-Handed Pitchers