SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2025
SHINING STARS HEADED TO ALL-STAR GAME
SIX SIOUX CITY PLAYERS ARE GOING TO FARGO
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The American Association has announced that OF Henry George, OF Zac Vooletich, RHP Kyle Marman, RHP Felix Cepeda and southpaws LHP Jared Wetherbee and LHP Chase Jessee have been selected to the West Division All-Star team for the 2025 American Association All-Star game on July 22 at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, North Dakota. George was named the starter in the outfield and Marman was selected for the second season in a row. Vooletich, Cepeda, Wetherbee and Jessee were selected for the first time.
Outfielder Henry George is in his first season with Sioux City. George has been among the league leaders in several offensive categories this season and has been a driving force for the Explorers offense. He is hitting .323, placing him seventh in the league and is fourth in on-base percentage at .430 going into tonight’s game in Kansas City. In the series opening win at Kansas City on July 9, George singled and stole second and would score on an RBI double from teammate and fellow All-Star Zac Vooletich. The inning represents the type of season the native of Woodbury, Minnesota is having for the Explorers. George has added 19 stolen bases, which ties him for fifth in the league. He played four seasons in college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before one season as a graduate transfer at South Dakota State. He played the last two seasons with the Northern Colorado Owlz of the Pioneer League before signing with Sioux City in 2025.
Right-hander Kyle Marman is in his second season with the Explorers after having spent last season as the team’s closer where he was selected to the 2024 All-Star team. This season he was the opening night starter and has been at the top of the rotation all season. Marman is second in the American Association in strikeouts with 86, second in innings pitched with 69.2 and he is sixth in ERA in the circuit, posting a 2.84. He is 4-3 for Sioux City in 11 starts with eight quality starts of at least six innings and three earned runs or fewer. Marman tossed the first nine inning complete game since 2021 last Saturday, July 5 for Sioux City. He scattered six hits and gave up an early first inning run then locked down the Gary SouthShore RailCats for the next eight scoreless innings in a 2-1 win for the X’s. Marman was named Pitcher of the Week after his opening night start on May 8 at Kane County. He held the Cougars to one run through seven innings with 11 season high strikeouts in a 2-1 Sioux City win.
Outfielder Zac Vooletich was headed home to Texas from Fargo after he did not make the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks roster in the spring of 2024. Sioux City Manager Steve Montgomery saw something in Vooletich during the exhibition season and called the former Texas Tech Red Raider on the second day of the season in 2024. Vooletich would detour off Interstate 29 to Sioux City and never looked back, having a good true-rookie campaign in 2024. The Texas native hit .239 with two home runs and 20 RBI stealing 24 bases. This season Vooletich has stepped up to hit five home runs with 28 RBI and has added 19 stolen bases to go with a .302 average. He is part of one of the best two and three hole hitting combinations in the American Association, batting behind Henry George. Going into tonight at Kansas City, Vooletich is on a team long 11-game hitting streak where he has driven in 11 runs on the streak. He has had a flair for some dramatic home runs this season, including a two-run shot in a comeback effort for Sioux City in a win over Chicago on May 14 and a solo shot on July 8 in the ninth inning in the win over Kansas City. Vooletich has a .402 on base percentage and has been hit 11 times by opponents pitches the fourth most in the league.
Right-handed flame thrower Felix Cepeda has anchored the closer role for Sioux City this season. He leads the league in saves with 14 and is tied for the league lead in appearances at 25. The right-hander has 37 strikeouts in 30 innings with a 4-1 record and a 1.50 ERA. He has converted 14 of his 18 save opportunities and has two extra inning wins under his belt. Cepeda has worked back-to-back nights on four different occasions where he recorded saves and the Explorers clinched a series win. He has two eight-game streaks where he did not allow an earned run this season for Sioux City, and he is on pace to appear in the most games for the X’s since 2018. Cepeda a native of Bonao, Dominican Republic, came to Sioux City this last winter after spending the previous six seasons with the Boston Red Sox organization, reaching Double-A Portland in 2024.
Lefty Jared Wetherbee has been terrific in the starting rotation for the Explorers, who as a team have the lowest ERA in the American Association at 3.74. Wetherbee is in his third season with Sioux City, coming to the American Association from the Philadelphia Phillies organization where the southpaw from Worcester, Massachusetts played from 2021 to 2022 between rookie and class-A level. He has been on a roll for Sioux City this season. Last night he tossed six innings and his eighth quality start, holding the Kansas City Monarchs to one earned run with six strikeouts in a 4-2 win. It was the fourth time in a row Wetherbee had gone at least six innings, and it was the 10th straight of at least five innings. The lefty has been outstanding at Lewis and Clark Park, going 4-0 with 39 strikeouts in 37 innings with a 1.67 ERA in 37.2 innings. Wetherbee has made 11 starts this season and is 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. He is fourth in strikeouts in the league, fifth in innings pitched and his seven wins is tied for the league lead. His 15th win as an Explorer moved him into the top 10 all-time in X’s history. Wetherbee played college baseball at Elon University.
Left-hander Chase Jessee has been a fiery addition to the Sioux City Explorers relief corps as the team’s primary set-up man. He has a team-leading eight holds and is 3-1 with one save with a 1.60 ERA in 33.2 innings. He is tied with teammate Felix Cepeda in appearances in the league and also on the same path to have the most games pitched by an Explorer since 2018. A sample of his work came Tuesday night, July 9, in the series-opening win for the X’s. The lefty navigated two innings against one of the league’s deepest lineups, holding the Monarchs at bay to reach the last call inning before Cepeda finished off the home team. One of his biggest moments came in an extra inning hard-luck loss at Winnipeg. The X’s were short Cepeda in the pen that series, and Jessee would work 3.2 innings in relief, striking out four to keep Sioux City in the fight before falling in extra innings. He won back-to-back relief outings on June 15 and 18, working 2.0 on the 15th and 2.2 on the 18th both times locking down the opponents striking out a combined eight in the two games. Jessee hails from Mansfield, Ohio and went to Malone University. He spent the last two seasons with the Northern Colorado Owlz of the Pioneer League and pitched internationally last winter in Australia with the Melbourne Aces.
The 2025 American Association All-Star Game is in Fargo, North Dakota hosted by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Newman Outdoor Field. The game is set for July 22 at 7:02 p.m. For more information go to fmredhawks.com.