Explorers Bring Back Young Catcher and Add Pitcher
Published on March 11, 2020 under American Association (AA)
Sioux City Explorers News Release
Sioux City Explorers catcher Justin Felix
(Sioux City Explorers)
Sioux City, IA - The Sioux City Explorers today have announced a pair of signings. C Justin Felix will play in his second season of professional baseball and second with the Explorers. RHP Jose Taveras will begin his seventh season in pro ball and first in Sioux City.
Felix was added to the X's roster on June 15th of last season. Playing as primarily the backup catcher he made it into 27 games. Twelve of those games were as a catcher with the rest being played in the outfield as the rookie sacrificed to do whatever the team asked of him. He hit .170 but showed flashes of impressive power. In only 53 at bats he had nine hits and five of those were home runs. Giving him a pace of a homer every 10.6 at bats. He scored nine runs, drove in six walked 11 times and also doubled and tripled.
Prior to joining the Explorers the 24 year old rookie was playing collegiately for the Arkansas State Red Wolves. In two seasons he hit for a .257 average, and an .886 OPS. In 107 games, with 18 homers, 26 doubles, 80 runs and 87 RBI. His two seasons in Jonesboro, Arkansas however were split into three years as he missed the 2018 season with an injury and took a medical redshirt. In both seasons led the team in homers and was either first or second in RBI.
The Nogales, Arizona native also spent two seasons at the New Mexico Military Institute. In his sophomore season with the Broncos he led the team in batting average (.395), on base percentage (.465), slugging percentage (.811), home runs (18) and was second on the team with 64 RBI. He finished third in school history in career home runs. He was named named All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference and the schools Most Improved Athlete for 2016.
His senior season at Nogales High School he was named the Spring Male Athlete of the Year and First Team All-Conference as he helped lead the Apaches to a Division II state runner-up finish.
Taveras is a 6'4, 210 pound right hander from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has spent the last six seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization reaching as high as Triple-A.
His first few seasons were spent at the Phillies lower levels including a stop in 2016 with the Lakewood Blueclaws where he posted an 8-8 record and 3.28 ERA over 25 games, with 20 starts. He struck out 154 batters over 137.1 innings of work, including a start where he set a BlueClaws record with 15 punch outs in a game.
The 2017 season was a career year for the 26 year old he spent most of the season in High-A, Clearwater with 16 starts and a 2.38 ERA over 102 innings of work striking out 92 batters. The impressive numbers earned him the honor as the starting pitcher for the North Division Team In the Florida State League All-Star Game. After a brief stop in Double-A he was quickly promoted to Triple-A where he finished out his season by making seven starts for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He proved in that short time that he had certainly earned the promotion as he went 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 41 innings with 37 strikeouts and allowing only 15 free passes. In total during the season between the three levels Taveras went 9-6 with a 2.22 ERA over 25 starts collecting 140 strikeouts in 154.1 innings pitched.
The following season was marred by a shoulder injury that put Taveras on the disabled list before the campaign ever began. He was only able to make three starts for Double-A, Reading registering a 5.95 ERA over those starts and another three appearances and 19.2 innings of work.
Last year Taveras pitched primarily between Double-A and Triple-A. After the first month of the season in Double-A where he posted a 3.41 ERA over seven appearances, five starts, he bounced between Reading and Triple-A, Lehigh Valley. However this stint in Triple-A would not be as kind to Taveras as his previous one. Making six starts and ten total appearances, he had a 7.31 ERA in 28.1 innings of work with a K/9 of 6.4 and a walks per nine of 4.1.
This past winter the big right hander played for the Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League, fashioning a 5.40 ERA in three starts and ten innings.
In the six seasons that Taveras pitched for the Phillies affiliates he tossed 526.2 innings, pitching in 105 total games, starting 86 of them. He compiled a 37-26 record and a 2.96 ERA. He had a WHIP of 1.096 and an impressive K/9 of 8.2 with an equally as impressive 2.1 BB/9. The 2020 season will mark his first playing in independent baseball.
With the additions of C Justin Felix and RHP Jose Taveras the Sioux City Explorers have now signed 18 players (13 Pitchers, 5 position players) to a 2020 contract.
RHP Jose Taveras
LHP Matt Marksberry
RHP Joe Riley
RHP Ryan Flores
RHP Liam O'Sullivan
RHP Tyler Cloyd
RHP Nate Gercken
RHP Ben Yokley
RHP AJ Nitzschke
LHP Jairo Labourt
RHP Matt Pobereyko
LHP Winston Lavendier
LHP Raudel Lazo
C Justin Felix
INF John Brontsema
OF Chase Harris
OF Sebastian Zawada
OF Ricky Ramirez Jr.
The Sioux City Explorers 28th season in Siouxland will begin on May 19th at the Kansas City T-Bones. The X's open up their home schedule on May 26th against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Season tickets, flex tickets, group tickets and luxury suites are now for sale for all 50 Explorers home games for the 2020 season. Simply call (712) 277-WINS (9467) to order your ticket package today.
Images from this story
 Sioux City Explorers catcher Justin Felix |
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