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Zander Wiel

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Zander Wiel
Wiel with the Fort Myers Miracle
Free agent
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1993-01-11) January 11, 1993 (age 32)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Alexander McBrayer "Zander" Wiel (born January 11, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.

Early life and amateur career

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Wiel was born and grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. When he was three, his father, Randy Wiel, became the basketball coach at Middle Tennessee State.[1] Wiel attended Blackman High School. Wiel was named first team All-District and first team All-Region his final three years of high school.[2][3]

After high school, Wiel attended Vanderbilt University. Wiel redshirted his freshman season at Vanderbilt in 2012. As a redshirt freshman, he batted .305 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 82 at bats.[1] He was named to the Freshman All-SEC team.[4] The following year, 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.[5] After the season, he played 8 games of summer baseball for the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.[6][7] As a redshirt junior, he posted a .316 average with 14 home runs and a team-high 65 RBIs in 2015.[8][9]

Professional career

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Minnesota Twins

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Wiel was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.[10] 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.[9][11] 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 Class A Advanced Fort Myers Miracle.[12] Wiel began the 2018 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League and batted .311 with seven home runs and 58 RBIs. He started in the Southern League All-Star Game.[13] He earned a late season promotion to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.[14] Wiel spent the 2019 season with Rochester and hit .254 with 40 doubles and 24 home runs.[15]

Wiel did not play in a game in 2020, due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] Wiel was added to the Twins' 60-man player pool for the shortened MLB season, but he did not make an appearance for the big league team.[17] 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, later revealed to be a quadriceps injury.[18] The Twins released Wiel on August 25, after he began a rehab assignment.[19]

High Point Rockers

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On February 16, 2022, Wiel signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[20] 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.[21][7] Following the regular season, Wiel was named an Atlantic League All-Star.[22]

In 2023, Wiel played in 113 games for the Rockers, hitting .276/.349/.552 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI. On April 15, 2024, Wiel re-signed with High Point.[23] In 60 games in 2024, he hit .188/.302/.436 with 13 home runs and 33 RBI.[7]

Wiel set new franchise records with High Point with 74 home runs and 227 RBI with the team.[24]

York Revolution

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On July 7, 2024, Wiel was traded to the York Revolution for Will Carter.[24] In 60 games for the Revolution, he batted .323/.396/.633 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI. With York, Wiel won the Atlantic League championship. In the final game of championship series, he scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning.[25]

On January 28, 2025, Wiel signed with the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League.[26][27] He was released by the Piratas prior to the start of the season on April 13.[28]

International career

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Wiel represented the Netherlands national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[29] He did not play in any of the team's four tournament games.[30]

Wiel does not speak Dutch. Because he does not have a Dutch passport, he cannot play for the Netherlands in other international tournaments.[31]

Personal life

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Wiel's father, Randy Wiel, played college basketball at the University of North Carolina and was the head basketball coach at UNC-Asheville, Middle Tennessee State, and the Netherlands men's national team.[32] Randy is from Curaçao, and he took his son to Curaçao and the Netherlands as a child.[33][31]

His mother is Connie Wiel.[33][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Boettcher, Jerome (March 11, 2014). "Second Wiel: Dad's lessons provide boost". VUCommodores.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "2014 Vanderbilt Baseball Fact Book". Issuu.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Lee, Chris (April 30, 2020). "The VandySports 100: No. 63, Zander Wiel". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Zander Wiel". Vanderbilt University Athletics. 2019-05-04. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  5. ^ "Wiel's batting stance tweak kick-starts Vandy offense". Omaha World-Herald. June 18, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Pair of Mainers Highlight 3 NECBL Howser Semi-Finalists". Necbl.com. May 15, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Zander Wiel Amateur, College, Minor & Independent League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  8. ^ Sparks, Adam (June 10, 2015). "Vandy's Zander Wiel, suspended Xavier Turner drafted". USAToday.com. Tennessean. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Meet The Kernels - Zander Wiel". The Gazette. May 2, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "Zander Wiel ready to start pro career". The Daily News Journal. July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "Wiel sidelined with broken hand". USAtodayHSS.com. July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "Former Vandy standout Zander Wiel off to impressive start with Chattanooga". Chattanooga Times Free Press. May 3, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  13. ^ "Zander Wiel is lone all-star starter for Chattanooga Lookouts". Chattanooga Times Free Press. June 8, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "Wiel's two homers push Red Wings past Bisons, who lose sixth in a row". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "Making the cut: Contenders for Twins' 30-man roster". Foxpsorts.com. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  16. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". Mlbtraderumors.com.
  17. ^ "Twins' Zander Wiel: Part of 60-man squad". CBSSports.com. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "Twins' Zander Wiel: Out with undisclosed injury". Cbssports.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Zander Wiel: Let go by Minnesota". CBS Sports. RotoWire. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  20. ^ "High Point Rockers Sign 1B Zander Wiel". Oursportscentral.com. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Zander Wiel To Play For Netherlands In WBC". High Point Rockers. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  22. ^ "Atlantic League Names 2022 Postseason All-Star Team". atlanticleague.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  23. ^ "2024 Transactions". atlanticleague.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Shutt, Steve (2024-07-08). "Rockers send Wiel to York". High Point Rockers Baseball. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  25. ^ "Revs Are Champs! Rhino Named MVP After Walk-off Heroics". oursportscentral.com. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "Piratas: Nuevo cañonero a la vista" [Pirates: New slugger in sight]. milb.com (in Spanish). January 29, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  27. ^ Visser, Seb (2025-01-30). "Zander Wiel vervolgt zijn loopbaan in Mexico" [Zander Wiel continues his career in Mexico]. HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  28. ^ "LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 13 de abril de 2025". lmb.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  29. ^ "Grote namen in voorselectie Koninkrijksteam voor World Baseball Classic – HonkbalSoftbal.nl". HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). January 10, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  30. ^ "2023 World Baseball Classic Stats". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  31. ^ a b Visser, Seb (2023-02-26). "Zander Wiel debuteert tijdens World Baseball Classic voor het Koninkrijksteam" [Zander Wiel makes his debut during World Baseball Classic for the Kingdom Team]. HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  32. ^ "VANDERBILT'S ZANDER WIEL ENJOYING FAMILIAL FEEL DURING TOURNEY RUN". FoxSports. May 28, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Organ, Mike (2014-03-22). "Vanderbilt baseball player's dad takes timeout for games". The Tennessean.
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