Joel Lepel

Joel Harry Lepel

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.

• School Minnesota State University, Mankato

• Born November 7, 1957 in Plato, MN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Joel Lepel has worked in baseball as a player and manager in the minors and as a scout.

He was a catcher in the Montreal Expos organization from 1980 to 1982 after being chosen in the 18th round of the 1980 amateur draft. He moved up quickly through the Expos' minor league ranks, as after 17 games for the 1980 Jamestown Expos, in which he hit .213/~.351/.234, he was promoted to the West Palm Beach Expos of the Florida State League, who were the Expos' top class-A farm team. He hit .263/~.336/.343 with 2 home runs and 26 RBI in 43 games over the second half of 1980, then had a good year for the same team in 1981, batting .281/~.374/.400 in 115 games, with 8 home runs and 39 RBI. He made the FSL All-Star team at catcher and led league backstops in putouts (668), assists (76) and double plays (13). That earned him an invitation to the Expos' spring training in 1982 as a non-roster player. He started 1982 with the AA Memphis Chicks of the Southern League but hit only .213/~.272/.272 in 41 games and was demoted to West Palm Beach. He hit .293/~.366/.340 in 56 games in the Florida State League, but left the Expos' organization after that season.

Lepel spent 1983-1985 as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University and 1986-1988 as an assistant under Bill Wilhelm at Clemson University. He then managed in the Minnesota Twins chain for three years (1989-1991). He was a scout for the Twins from 1992 to 2000, a scouting supervisor from 2001 to 2005 and has been the Twins' minor league field coordinator since 2006 (as of 2013).

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1989	GCL Twins	Gulf Coast League	27-36	10th (t)	Minnesota Twins
1990	GCL Twins	Gulf Coast League	32-30	8th (t)	Minnesota Twins
1991	Kenosha Twins	Midwest League	63-74	11th	Minnesota Twins