Jeff Bannon

Jeff Matthew Bannon

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 180 lb.
• School University of California, Santa Barbara
• High School Camarillo High School

• Born August 21, 1979 in Camarillo, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

At the start of 2007, Jeff Bannon was playing 2nd base for the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 18th round (546th overall) of the 2001 amateur draft, Bannon debuted with the Billings Mustangs and hit .260/.311/.345 in 60 games that year. In 2002, he batted .260/.309/.370 with the Stockton Ports, scoring 71 runs but striking out 106 times. Bannon almost led the minor leagues in errors as his 42 paced shortstops and were one shy of Julian Benividez, a third baseman. Bannon also led the California League's shortstops in putoouts (183).

Bannon improved to .295/.360/.443 with the 2003 Potomac Cannons and cut his strikeouts to 67. He was 6th in the Carolina League in average, right behind Nate McLouth, and made the All-Star team as the top shortstop, splitting the votes with Andres Blanco. He only hit .104/.189/.125 in 13 late-season games with the Chattanooga Lookouts.

In 2004, Jeff hit .252/.316/.408 for Chattanooga with 31 doubles (tied for 5th in the Southern League), 13 homers, 73 RBI and 113 strikeouts. His 26 errors tied Tony Pena Jr. for the SL lead at short. The next year, Bannon split between the Lookouts (.266/.317/.449, 14 HR in 93 games) and the Louisville Bats (.282/.296/.443 in 41 contests). He was starting to see significant time at third base while his power numbers (18 HR) were improving.

Bannon split 2006 between the same two teams as 2005 - .246/.278/.355 in 40 games for Chattanooga and .250/.281/.396 in 66 games with Louisville. Through July 15, 2007, he is hitting .307/.359/.397 as the second baseman for Louisville.

Sources: 2002-2007 Baseball Almanacs, 2007 Reds Media Guide, MILB.com