American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Sioux City Explorers third baseman Matt Lloyd as American Association Player of the Week for Week 32 of the 2023 season.

Explorers 3B Matt Lloyd Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Sioux City Explorers third baseman Matt Lloyd as the Player of the Week for Week 3 of the 2023 American Association season. Lloyd dominated the week, leading the American Association batting average (.545) and was second in RBI (10).

Lloyd appeared in all six games for Sioux City during the week, beginning with a three-game set in Sioux Falls against the Canaries. After going 0-3 in the opener, the infielder exploded on Wednesday, going 5-6 with three runs scored and five RBI. He doubled twice in the contest and added a home run. He closed the series with a 1-4 performance, scoring a run and recording his second walk of the week. During the three-game series, Lloyd went a combined 6-13 with four runs scored, two doubles, a home runs, five RBI, and two walks.

Next, the Explorers welcomed the Lincoln Saltdogs, and Lloyd was a combined 6-9 in the series, scoring four runs, driving in five, and hitting his second home run of the week. He also walked five times and the series. The third baseman opened with an impressive performance, going 2-2 with two runs scored and an RBI on Friday. He also walked three times in the contest and was hit by a pitch. On Saturday, Lloyd went 3-4 with a run scored and two RBI, and closed the series with another two RBI performance, drilling his third homer of the year, his one hit in three trips to the plate.

Lloyd finished the week 12-22 with eight runs scored, tied for tops in the American Association, and 10 RBI. He also walked seven times and only struck out once. Lloyd finished tops in OPS (1.554), on-base percentage (.645), and slugging (.909). For the season, Lloyd is hitting .380 with 14 runs scored and 15 RBI in 15 games.

Matt Lloyd was selected in the 15th round of the 2019 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He spent three seasons in the Reds organization, reaching AA-Chattanooga last year, where he hit .187 with 14 RBI in 20 games.

2023 American Association Players of the Week

Week 1 – Zach Nehrir, Outfielder, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 2 – Chris Herrmann, Catcher, Kansas City Monarchs

By Robert Pannier