SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2025
WETHERBEE RETURNS TO SIOUX CITY
X’S BOLSTER PITCHING STAFF FOR 2025
SIOUX CITY, IA – The Sioux City Explorers have announced that the club has signed left-handed pitcher Jared Wetherbee for the 2025 season. The lefty will return to Sioux City for his third season and will once again be a key piece of the Explorers pitching staff. Wetherbee is the 12th pitcher and the 22nd player that the Explorers have inked in the offseason.
Jared Wetherbee returns to Sioux City for his third season with a career record of 8-9 in partner league ball and with a 4.36 ERA in 29 games with 28 starting nods for the X’s. Wetherbee was tied for the team lead in wins in 2024 with six after going 6-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 84 innings. He made 16 starts and struck out 93 batters, surrendering 41 earned runs on 68 hits with 55 walks issued in 2024. Wetherbee posted a 1.464 WHIP on the season.
Jared Wetherbee spent the entire 2024 season in the starting rotation for Sioux City and picked up his first win at Chicago on May 19, tossing six innings of two-hit ball and surrendering just one earned run with nine strikeouts in a 5-2 win for the Explorers. He pitched at least five innings in 12 of his starts and recorded five quality starts–six innings of three earned runs or fewer–on the season. Wetherbee had a stint on the injured list from July 8 to July 21 during the middle of the Explorers season. Despite being sidelined, he recorded wins in three straight starts from June 25 to July 21, yielding six earned runs over 16 innings with 12 strikeouts during that stretch.
On August 21, Wetherbee hurled a gem in a 1-0 win over Kansas City at home. He threw seven scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and claiming a season-high 10 strikeouts in the win over the X’s rivals from KCK. He would match the 10 strikeouts on his next start in a 5-0 loss at Sioux Falls and would strike out 20 combined over his last 11 innings of the regular season as the X’s raced to the postseason. In the 2024 American Association playoffs, Wetherbee made one start, giving up one earned run in four innings on three hits with another five strikeouts in a 7-1 win at Fargo-Moorhead on September 6. It was his first appearance with Sioux City in the postseason.
The lefty originally signed on May 2, 2023, and he made his first start on May 16 at home against Lake Country. He would work 3.2 innings in a 3-1 win, picking up a no decision with five strikeouts. For the season, Wetherbee would go 2-4 with a 4.31 ERA in 56.1 innings with 65 strikeouts while walking 25 and surrendering 27 earned runs on 57 hits. He added a 1.456 WHIP while finishing fourth on the team in strikeouts and fifth in innings pitched.
Wetherbee pitched at least five innings in five consecutive outings into mid-June before arm fatigue slowed his season down. He would leave his June 18 start at Lincoln after 3.2 innings, and he would not return to action until July 2. Wetherbee would then miss most of the month of July, not returning until the Explorers faced Kansas City at home on July 30 when he threw three scoreless innings of relief for Sioux City in a 4-0 loss to the Monarchs.
Wetherbee came back in the rotation on August 6 and would throw three innings at Gary in a 5-2 loss, but he had five strikeouts while picking up the loss. He rebounded for a four-inning outing on August 19, holding the Sioux Falls Canaries to one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts in the Explorers 11-3 win at the birdcage. Two outings later, Wetherbee would finish strong with a quality start in a hard-luck loss at Chicago on September 3. He would hold the Dogs to three earned runs on six hits with another six strikeouts in a 3-0 shutout setback.
Wetherbee, age 26, came to the X’s from the Philadelphia Phillies organization where the southpaw played from 2021 to 2022 between rookie and class-A level. He posted a 2-1 record in the Phillies system with a 3.22 ERA in 36.1 innings over 30 games all out of the pen. He struck out 57 with a 1.486 WHIP over parts of two seasons. As a professional, Wetherbee has a career 10-10 record in 140.1 innings 59 games in 176.1 innings with 215 strikeouts and a career 4.14 ERA.
He signed as a free agent with the Phillies organization on July 20, 2021, out of Elon University in Elon, North Carolina where he pitched for four seasons. In his final season in college, Wetherbee pitched in six games while making four starts, going 16.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA in 2021. The lefty earned a spot on the All-CAA Preseason Team for Elon prior to his senior season.
In high school Wetherbee was named the 2017 Founder’s League Pitcher of the Year for Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Connecticut. He was named to the 2017 USA Today Connecticut All-State Team and earned ESPN All-State honors. Wetherbee was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and lists his hometown as Fiskdale, MA.
Players signed 2025:
LHP Jared Wetherbee
OF D’Shawn Knowles
LHP Austin Drury
RHP Roy Garcia
IF Joshua Day
RHP Felix Cepeda
LHP Brendan O’Donnell
C Jake Meyer
RHP Heitor Tokar
IF Luis Toribio
IF Abdiel Layer
OF Jose Layer
OF Austin Davis
OF Zac Vooletich
LHP Miguel Pozo
OF Emilio Corona
C/1B Kurtis Byrne
LHP Chase Jessee
OF Henry George
RHP Jeremy Goins
LHP Jaren Jackson
RHP Ben Madison
The Explorers are set to open their 32nd season in the Siouxland on the road Thursday night, May 8, at 6:30 p.m. against the Kane County Cougars. The club will celebrate opening night at Lewis and Clark Park Friday night, May 16 at 7:05 p.m., against the Kansas City Monarchs. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on-sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10, 15 and 25-game Flex Packs. More information is available by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers social media channels and the club’s website xsbaseball.com for off-season news and updates. The official podcast of the Explorers can be found online and tune into the live show on Facebook Live during the offseason for more news and Explorers content.