Familiar Arms Coming Back to Sioux City
February 27, 2020 - American Association (AA)
Sioux City Explorers News Release
Sioux City Explorers pitcher Ryan Flores
(Sioux City Explorers)
Sioux City, IA - The Sioux City Explorers today have announced the signings of RHP Ryan Flores and RHP Joe Riley. The 2020 season will mark Flores' fourth season in both professional baseball and with the Explorers and will be Riley's second season in pro ball and with Sioux City.
Flores has become a household name to X's fans when he comes out of the bullpen. Armed with his trademark frisbee slider he has also become well known to opponents around the league. Last season Flores began the year with the Sioux Falls Canaries, after a couple of transactions he found himself back in an Explorers uniform. Between the two I-29 rivals Flores appeared in 36 games with a 3-3 record and a 5.56 ERA. He struck out 53 batters in 42.1 innings of work.
Over his three season career in Sioux City, Flores has appeared in the fourth most games in franchise history (117) and sits in ninth place for most strikeouts (205). Over his 174 innings of work he has an ERA of 3.77.
His first season with the X's in 2017 the right hander led the team with 44 appearances and 93 strikeouts, which is the 20th highest total in a single season for an Explorer.
Prior to joining the Explorers, the now 26 year old pitched collegiately at Richland College in Dallas, TX. In 2016, Flores also played for the Savannah Bananas in the Coastal Plain League (collegiate summer baseball league) where he impressed going 4-0 with 3 saves and a 2.21 ERA. In 36.2 innings pitched, Flores allowed only 29 hits while striking out 42 batters. Flores also played in the fall of 2016 in the new Desert League for the Yuma Hammers where the righty held a 2.69 ERA in 20 innings pitched, accumulating 16 strikeouts.
Riley made his professional debut last season with the X's on August 26th against the Kansas City T-Bones. He appeared in three games tossing four innings of shutout baseball, striking out two in the process. Riley also got a few innings in the 2019 postseason. In the South Division Championship Series in game one against Kansas City he tossed two innings striking out three batters. He also recorded a scoreless inning in game one of the American Association Finals against St. Paul.
Prior to the X's the 6'1, 185 pound right hander played collegiately at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho. In 2019, his senior season, he was the Warriors primary closer, collecting five saves over 15 appearances. He had a 2.55 ERA over 17.1 innings where he struck out 19 batters and was a part of their NAIA World Series team. In his two seasons at Lewis-Clark State Riley collected 10 saves and 41 strikeouts in 31 games.
Even before Lewis-Clark State, Riley had shown he was a more than capable bullpen arm at Reedley College in California. There the Alameda native notched 14 saves to earn All-State Reliever honors. He struck out 26 batters over 27.2 innings of work with a 3.25 ERA to also earn First-Team All League and First-Team All-Central Valley Conference honors.
With the additions of Ryan Flores and Joe Riley the Explorers have 13 (11 pitchers, 2 position players) signed to American Association contracts for the 2020 season.
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
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 pitcher Ryan Flores |
• Discuss this story on the American Association message board...
American Association Stories from February 27, 2020
- Flamethrower Cruz Returns to Railroaders - Cleburne Railroaders
- Saints Single-Game Tickets on Sale March 14 - St. Paul Saints
- Familiar Arms Coming Back to Sioux City - Sioux City Explorers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
