Alexander McBrayer "Zander" Wiel (born January 11, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Profession ...

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 The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

Early life and amateur career

Wiel was born and grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and attended Blackman High School. Wiel was named first team All-District and first team All-Region each season from his sophomore year on. 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. 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 The 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, May 30, 2014 as part of the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2014 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, which start ...

. After the season he played summer baseball for the

Sanford Mainers The Sanford Mainers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Sanford, Maine. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball woo ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

. As a redshirt junior he posted a .316 average with 14 home runs and a team-high 65 RBIs.

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Wiel was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. 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. The following season Wiel played for the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, 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 The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at H ...

of the Class A Advanced Florida State League. Wiel began the 2018 season with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

of the Southern League and batted .311 with seven home runs and 58 RBIs and started in the Southern League All-Star Game. He earned a late season promotion to the AAA Rochester Red Wings. Wiel spent the 2019 season with Rochester and hit 40 doubles and 24 home runs with a .254 batting average. Wiel did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. 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. 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. 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.

High Point Rockers

On February 16, 2022, Wiel signed with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

International career

He represented the

Netherlands national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ...

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

Personal life

Wiel's father, Randy Wiel, was the head basketball coach at UNC-Asheville and

Middle Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together of ...

. Randy is from Curaçao, making his son eligible to represent Curaçao and the Netherlands internationally.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiel, Zander 1993 births Living people Dutch people of Curaçao descent Dutch people of American descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Curaçao descent Baseball players from Tennessee Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players Baseball outfielders Baseball first basemen Elizabethton Twins players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Chattanooga Lookouts players Rochester Red Wings players St. Paul Saints players High Point Rockers players People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee