Wesley Bankston

Wesley Wade Bankston is a professional baseball player who plays at first base. The American went to the Plano East High School and was part of the football and baseball teams. He was an outfielder in the latter and the starting quarterback in the former. He was scheduled to play for the University of Texas but once the Tampa Bay Devil Rays came for him in the 2002 MLB Draft, he decided to go and was picked at 104th overall.

Bankston began as an outfielder with the Princeton Devil Rays in the Rookie League and also split some time with the A-League's Hudson Valley Renegades. He had a combined batting average of .301 and had 18 home runs in 70 games. In the process, he broke the previous home run record of 17, set by Jared Sandberg. He was rated as the 2nd best prospect in the Appalachian League by Baseball America and also as the 6th best prospect in the Devil Rays' organization.

In 2003, he moved to the Charleston RiverDogs in the A-League and that saw a drop in his performance. He just averaged .256 with the bat and hit 12 home runs. He was still placed as the 7th best on Baseball America's list of top prospects in the Devil Rays. He spent another year at Charleston and converted to a first baseman, hitting .289 with 23 home runs, a career high count. He won the team's Player of the Year title and was also named to the South Atlantic League's Mid-Season All-Star team.

He began 2005 with an injury but soon returned to action with the Visalia Oaks. In 17 games, he had a .387 average with 3 home runs, winning a promotion to the AA-Montgomery Biscuits. He played all 82 games with the Biscuits and had a batting average of .292 with 12 home runs. The Devil Rays bought his contract in November that year.

In 2006, Bankston again began with the Biscuits, playing third base, and hit .263 with 4 home runs. Despite his poor performance, he was still named to the Southern League mid-season All-Star team as their third baseman. He went to the Durham Bulls in the AAA-league and was with them for the remainder of the season. He had a wonderful season with a .297 batting average along with 5 home runs.

He had his worst season in 2007 with a .238 batting average and spent the entire season in the AAA-league. In September, he was designated for assignment and the Kansas City Royals claimed him off waivers in 5 days. They themselves designated Bankston for assignment and this time, the Oakland Athletics claimed him off waivers. Three months later, he was again in the same boat but this time, Bankston cleared waivers and was sent to he minor leagues.

In July 2008, he made his MLB debut with the Athletics against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Bankston became a free agent at the end of the season and was signed on, on a minor league contract, by the Cincinnati Reds.