James Shanks (minors02)

James Albert Shanks

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Solomon Christian School
• Born January 26, 1979 in Appling, GA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder James Shanks' professional career spanned from 1998 to 2013. He was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 21st round of the 1998 amateur draft, a few picks after infielder Nick Punto and a few ahead of pitcher Frank Gracesqui. He peaked at Triple-A, hitting .291/.344/.440 in 85 games there.

A speedster, he stole 10 bases in 42 games in 1998, then 19 in 69 games in 1999. After not playing in 2000, he returned to steal 24, 26 and 21 bags from 2001 to 2003, respectively; in 2003, he also hit .301 with 104 hits in 85 games for the Wilmington Blue Rocks. His performance earned him a trial in the Arizona Fall League. Moving to the Florida Marlins chain for 2004, Shanks had a career year, hitting .333/378/.523 with 14 home runs, 59 RBI and 23 steals in 108 games between the Greensboro Bats (59 G, .322 BA), Jupiter Hammerheads (36 G, .333 BA) and Carolina Mudcats (13 G, .435 BA). In his first taste of Triple-A ball in 2005, he hit .268/.333/.394 with a steal in 19 games for the Albuquerque Isotopes; he batted .292/.358/443 on the year as a whole. He was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star that year. Back with Albuquerque for 2006, Shanks batted .299/.347/.455 in 66 games.

He also spent part of 2006 in the independent leagues and remained there for the rest of his career. He played in the Golden Baseball League (2006), American Association (2007) and Atlantic League (2008-2013, All-Star each year from 2009-2011). Between the Isotopes and the GBL's Reno Silver Sox in 2006, he stole 20 bases, then he stole 16 bags in 2007. He showed a decent power-speed combo from 2008 to 2011, with home run-stolen bases totals of 12-11, 17-12, 19-14 and 12-15 each year, respectively. He also slashed .325/.352/.502 in 2010 and .314/.346/.500 in 2011. He hit 11 home runs in 2012, but batted just .172 in 2013 to wrap up his career.

Between the affiliated minors and independent leagues, Shanks batted .292 with 120 home runs, 702 RBI, 232 stolen bases and 1,545 hits in 1,371 games over 15 seasons.