Zander Wiel

Alexander McBrayer "Zander" Wiel (born January 11, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.

Zander Wiel
Wiel with the Fort Myers Miracle
High Point Rockers – No. 40
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1993-01-11) January 11, 1993
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Early life and amateur career

Wiel was born and grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and attended Blackman High School.[1] Wiel was named first team All-District and first team All-Region each season from his sophomore year on.[2]

Wiel redshirted his freshman season at Vanderbilt. As a redshirt freshman, he batted .305 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 82 at bats.[3] In his first full season as a starter Wiel batted .260 with five home runs and 44 RBIs as the Commodores won the 2014 College World Series.[4] After the season he played summer baseball for the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.[5] As a redshirt junior he posted a .316 average with 14 home runs and a team-high 65 RBIs.[6][7]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Wiel was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.[8] After signing he was assigned to the Elizabethton Twins of the rookie-level Appalachian League, hitting .194 in 13 games played before breaking his hand in July.[7][9] The following season Wiel played for the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League, playing in 128 games with a .259 batting average with 19 home runs, 86 RBIs and 75 runs scored. In 2017 he batted .250 with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs for the Fort Myers Miracle of the Class A Advanced Florida State League.[10] Wiel began the 2018 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League and batted .311 with seven home runs and 58 RBIs and started in the Southern League All-Star Game.[11] He earned a late season promotion to the AAA Rochester Red Wings.[12] Wiel spent the 2019 season with Rochester and hit 40 doubles and 24 home runs with a .254 batting average.[13]

Wiel did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] Wiel was added to the Twins' 60-man player pool for the shortened MLB season, but did not make an appearance for the big league team.[15] In 2021, Wiel played in 2 games for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints before landing on the injured list on May 12 with an undisclosed injury.[16] The injury was later revealed to be a quadriceps injury, and Wiel was released by the Twins organization on August 25 after embarking on a rehab assignment.[17]

High Point Rockers

On February 16, 2022, Wiel signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[18] Wiel played in 115 games for the Rockers, slashing .260/.344/.576 with 11 stolen bases. His 32 home runs and 98 RBI were both High Point franchise records.[19][20] Following the regular season, Wiel was named an Atlantic League All-Star.[21]

International career

He represented the Netherlands national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[22]

Personal life

Wiel's father, Randy Wiel, was the head basketball coach at UNC-Asheville and Middle Tennessee State.[23] Randy is from Curaçao, making his son eligible to represent Curaçao and the Netherlands internationally.[24]

References
  1. "2014 Vanderbilt Baseball Fact Book". Issuu.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. Lee, Chris (April 30, 2020). "The VandySports 100: No. 63, Zander Wiel". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  3. Boettcher, Jerome (March 11, 2014). "Second Wiel: Dad's lessons provide boost". VUCommodores.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. "Wiel's batting stance tweak kick-starts Vandy offense". Omaha World-Herald. June 18, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  5. "Pair of Mainers Highlight 3 NECBL Howser Semi-Finalists". Necbl.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. Sparks, Adam (June 10, 2015). "Vandy's Zander Wiel, suspended Xavier Turner drafted". USAToday.com. Tennessean. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. "Meet The Kernels - Zander Wiel". The Gazette. May 2, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  8. "Zander Wiel ready to start pro career". The Daily News Journal. July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  9. "Wiel sidelined with broken hand". USAtodayHSS.com. July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  10. "Former Vandy standout Zander Wiel off to impressive start with Chattanooga". Chattanooga Times Free Press. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. "Zander Wiel is lone all-star starter for Chattanooga Lookouts". Chattanooga Times Free Press. June 8, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  12. "Wiel's two homers push Red Wings past Bisons, who lose sixth in a row". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  13. "Making the cut: Contenders for Twins' 30-man roster". Foxpsorts.com. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". Mlbtraderumors.com.
  15. "Twins' Zander Wiel: Part of 60-man squad". CBSSports.com. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  16. "Twins' Zander Wiel: Out with undisclosed injury". Cbssports.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  17. "Zander Wiel: Let go by Minnesota". Cbssports.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  18. "High Point Rockers Sign 1B Zander Wiel". Oursportscentral.com. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  19. "Zander Wiel To Play For Netherlands In WBC". highpointrockers.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  20. "Zander Wiel Amateur, College, Minor & Independent League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  21. "Atlantic League Names 2022 Postseason All-Star Team". atlanticleague.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  22. "Grote namen in voorselectie Koninkrijksteam voor World Baseball Classic – HonkbalSoftbal.nl". HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). January 10, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  23. "VANDERBILT'S ZANDER WIEL ENJOYING FAMILIAL FEEL DURING TOURNEY RUN". FoxSports. May 28, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  24. Organ, Mike. "Vanderbilt baseball player's dad takes timeout for games". The Tennessean.
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