Max Kepler

Max Kepler
Minnesota Twins – No. 67
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1993-02-10) February 10, 1993
Berlin, Germany
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 27, 2015, for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .143
Home runs 0
Runs batted in 0
Teams

Maximilian Kepler (born February 10, 1993) is a German professional baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before signing with the Twins, he played for Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg of Bundesliga. He is left-handed.

Early life

Kepler was born in Berlin, Germany. His parents, Kathy Kepler and Marek Rozycki, were both professional ballet dancers; they met when they performed in the same ballet company in Berlin.[1] His mother is from San Antonio, Texas,[2] while his father is from Poland.[1] Kepler is 1.92 metres (6 ft 4 in) tall[2] and weighs 98 kilograms (216 lb).[3] Max has one sister.[1]

At the age of six, Kepler started baseball at the Little League level with the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin.[4] Though he received a scholarship at age seven to the Steffi Graf Tennis Foundation,[1] he decided he preferred baseball.[4] Kepler attended John F. Kennedy School in Berlin,[2] and the St. Emmeram Academy in Regensburg in 2008, where he was able to train in baseball more than the average American teenager.[5][6] He played association football with Hertha BSC[2] and played baseball for Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg of Bundesliga, the highest baseball league in Germany.[2][7]

American baseball career

Andy Johnson, an international scout working for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB), first noticed Kepler when he played in a junior national tournament at the age of 14.[1] He signed with the Twins in 2009 for US$800,000, the largest signing bonus given by an MLB franchise to a European-born player.[2][5] Kepler made his American debut in the Rookie-level in 2010 Gulf Coast League (GCL) with the GCL Twins. He was promoted to the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie-Advanced Appalachian League in 2011. He was assigned to Elizabethton for the 2012 season.[8] An elbow injury delayed the start of Kepler's 2013 season, when he was assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Class A Midwest League.[9] Following the regular season, the Twins assigned Kepler to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.[10]

After the 2013 season, the Twins added Kepler to their 40-man roster and he was invited to spring training.[11] Kepler played for the Fort Myers Miracle of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2014, and opened the 2015 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League.[12] Kepler was selected to represent the Twins at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game,[13] though a sore shoulder prevented him from playing.[14] Kepler finished the 2015 season with a .327 batting average, nine home runs and 18 stolen bases. He was named Southern League Player of the Year.[15]

The Twins promoted Kepler to the major leagues on September 21, the night after the Lookouts won the Southern League championship.[16] He made his major league debut on September 27, and recorded his first hit on October 4.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Twins' Kepler-Rozycki is in his element | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Max Kepler-Rozycki: "Das ist wie bei der Bundeswehr" :: Homepage - Sport - Das MZ-Samstagsinterview :: Mittelbayerische Zeitung" (in German). www.mittelbayerische.de. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ "B.Z.-Besuch beim Berliner Baseball-Nachwuchsstar Max Kepler-Rozycki in Florida : Wunderkind vermisst die Kälte und die S-Bahn - B.Z. Berlin" (in German). Bz-berlin.de. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  4. 1 2 ZEIT ONLINE GmbH, Hamburg, Germany (August 13, 2010). "Baseball: Die Ballet-Ikone mit Baseball-Stollen | Sport | ZEIT ONLINE" (in German). Zeit.de. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Schlagen für die große Baseball-Zukunft :: Homepage - Sport - Buchbinder Legionäre - Legionäre News :: Mittelbayerische Zeitung" (in German). www.mittelbayerische.de. January 26, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ Smith, Cameron (July 7, 2009). "Baseball Insider - The Top European Prospect Ever". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ "European Top Prospect Max Kepler-Rozycki to sign with Minnesota Twins - Europeans in the USA, News - German Baseball Leagues - Mister Baseball". Mister-baseball.com. July 4, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ Davis, Danny. "Relearning game, nuturing talent in Tennessee". Star Tribune (StarTribune.com). Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Chart: Update on injuries to Twins' prospects". Star Tribune. April 20, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Athletic Kepler boasts broad skill set". MLB.com. December 30, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  11. ↑ Berardino, Mike (November 20, 2013). "Minnesota Twins add Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco to 40-man roster". TwinCities.com. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  12. ↑ Paschall, David (April 7, 2015). "Half of Twins' top 10 prospects opening with Chattanooga Lookouts". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Twins Jose Berrios, Max Kepler in Futures Game". MLB.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Injured Max Kepler to miss Futures Game". MLB.com. July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Lookouts Max Kepler Named Southern League Player Of The Year". The Chattanoogan. September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  16. ↑ Bollinger, Rhett (September 21, 2015). "Twins call up German-born Kepler for stretch run: Recently named Southern League MVP, outfielder ranks as club's No. 6 prospect". MLB.com. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ Heneghan, Kelsie (February 9, 2016). "Kepler rides roller coaster to Minnesota: Twins prospect deals with disappointment, playoffs before first callup". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.

External links

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