SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2023
LLYOD EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
SIOUX CITY, IA – The American Association has named Sioux City Explorers IF Matt Lloyd the Pointstreak Batter of the Week for the week ending May 28. Lloyd went 12-for-22 during the week with two home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored for the Explorers. This season in 15 games, he is hitting a team-leading .380 with three home runs and is charting second on the club with 15 RBI. His 19 hits also puts him in first on the X’s so far this season.
Matt Lloyd was signed by Sioux City on May 2 after he spent the last four seasons in the Cincinnati Reds organization. The Canadian-born infielder was a big-time bat at the University of Indiana during his college days, playing three years there before being drafted in the 15th round of the MLB draft by the Reds. He was a dual-threat player in college, both pitching and hitting, before converting to a full-time position player in professional ball. The 27-year-old reached AA with the Reds and played 52 games with them between 2021-22.
In 2022, Lloyd struggled during his 20 games for AA Chattanooga. He hit .187 over 86 plate appearances, although he still got on base at a .291 clip. His prior year at AA showed much more promise, as Lloyd worked to a .333 OBP with a .813 OPS. He also crushed seven homers over his 114 plate appearances.
Lloyd hadn’t played since 2019, when he split time between Class-A and rookie ball as part of his first year in professional baseball. He played 50 games between the levels, batting .236 with a .328 OBP and .765 OPS to pair with eight home runs.
His final season with the Hoosiers was in Spring 2019, which proved to be his best year. He had a .390 OBP and .963 OPS while hitting 17 homers. His 2018 season was a down year by his standards, batting .275 with an .815 OPS. That season followed up a great first year for Indiana when he batted .301 with a .947 OPS and 11 HR. Throughout his career, he also threw 72.1 innings with a 2.12 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.
Lloyd has experience on the international level as well, playing on Team Canada. In 2014 he was also a member of the team that won the Bronze Medal at the 2014 Pan Am Games in Mexico. He is expected to join the national team in the Pan Am Games Qualifying tournament in June in Argentina. Team Canada is looking to make the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile in October and November of 2023.
The Explorers hit the road for a four-game series beginning tonight (Monday) in Cleburne, Texas against the Cleburne Railroaders. The first pitch from La Moderna Field is at 7:06 p.m. with the pregame starting at 6:35 p.m. on KSCJ and aabaseball.tv. The X’s return home to begin a three-game series against the Kane County Cougars Friday, June 2, at Mercy Field at Lewis and Clark Park.
Tickets for the season can be purchased online at XSBaseball.com, in person at the Lewis and Clark Park Box Office or by calling 712-277-WINS. You can catch all the X’s action on aabaseball.tv and on radio at KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM.