Through the first 11 games of the season, the Twins find themselves leading the AL Central over the Guardians by a half game in what figures to be a hotly contested division. Minnesota made the decision on Tuesday to bring up some reinforcements.
The Twins promoted second base prospect Edouard Julien from Triple-A to the majors, and he will make his MLB debut on Wednesday against the White Sox, batting eighth. Julien's promotion coincides with the placement of Joey Gallo on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 8.
Minnesota has no shortage of infielders, with Kyle Farmer, Nick Gordon and Donovan Solano each having experience at second base. But Julien won't just be in Minneapolis to play second. He has demonstrated valuable defensive versatility that could allow him to become a super-utility player for the Twins.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW, EDOUARD JULIEN‼️ pic.twitter.com/iKCAjAWu9k
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 12, 2023
But make no mistake: it's Julien's bat that will be the star of the show when he's up in the majors.
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Here's everything you need to know about the latest rookie to debut for the Twins:
Edouard Julien stats
Any conversation about Edouard Julien has to start with his bat. For years, he has been one of the most prolific hitters in the minors.
College players who reach the lower minors often walk at absurd rates because they've already faced advanced pitching levels, and the lower minors often feature pitchers with control issues. Julien has walked at high rates at every level. Since 2021, the first time Julien played in the minors, no player has walked more than Julien's 208 times. That is good for a 20.4 percent walk rate, and has contributed to a .437 on-base percentage.
Julien does more than take the free pass. In his MiLB career, he has launched 37 home runs in 234 games, good for a 162-game pace of 25.6. He's also swiped 54 bases in 66 attempts. Altogether, Julien has a slash line of .284/.437/.487 during his MiLB career.
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The left-handed hitter's approach means that he occasionally has some strikeout issues. Because he works himself deep into counts, he has a tendency to strike out at higher rates as well. He has a career strikeout rate of 26.5 percent.
Carlos Correa said it best when he watched Julien play during spring training.
"My god, the kid can hit, man," he said, per MLB.com.
Edouard Julien college
Back in 2017, Julien was drafted out of Cardinal Roy Secondary School in Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, by the Phillies in the 37th round, but he opted not to head to professional baseball. Instead, the Canadian packed his bags and went south. Fifteen-hundred miles south, to be exact.
Julien opted to play college ball at Auburn and immediately became an impact player for the Tigers. In 2018, he slashed .275/.398/.556 with 38 walks, 79 strikeouts, 17 home runs and seven stolen bases.
The next season, however, he saw a bit of regression, posting just a .258/.388/.453 slash with 10 homers, 46 walks and 76 strikeouts with three stolen bases.
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Edouard Julien MLB draft
Julien was just 20 years old and a sophomore in college at Auburn, which typically means a player is not eligible for the MLB draft. However, MLB ruled that his season with Cardinal Roy gave him an extra year of collegiate experience and made him draft eligible.
The Auburn utility player wasn't viewed as a top prospect in the draft. MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 177 in the 2019 class, giving him an above-average grade for his power, while listing his hit, run, arm and fielding tools as all below average.
And when the draft arrived, he had to wait a long time to hear his name called. It wasn't until the 18th round, when at 539th overall, the Twins selected Julien.
He had to wait to make his professional baseball debut until 2021 due an injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2019 season and the minor league season being cancelled in 2020, but he has obviously not taken long to prove to be a draft steal.
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Edouard Julien on Team Canada
Julien has represented his nation many times in international competitions. He was part of the Canadian Junior National Team with the U18 national team in 2016 and won gold with Team Quebec at the 18U National Championship in 2016.
Following his sophomore campaign at Auburn, Julien represented Canada in the 2019 Pan American Games.
But Julien's biggest international baseball moments came in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when he received an invite to play for Team Canada.
"Coach told me if I was interested in playing for Team Canada, and I was at the time," Julien said before the WBC. "I grew up watching the WBC and all these big time players that played for Canada, Justin Morneau and Joey Votto, Russell Martin, all these guys and just watching them perform in the WBC, I think it's a great platform to just go out there and show the world that you can play there and that you belong with the best in baseball and also to represent your country."
On a team with standouts like Freddie Freeman and Tyler O'Neill, it was Julien who had the biggest impact. He finished the WBC with a tournament-leading OPS of 1.821 with a slash of .538/.667/1.154 with a pair of home runs, five walks and five strikeouts.
Edouard Julien prospect rankings
Julien has rapidly ascended prospect rankings, though his defense remains the biggest thing holding him back from being among the top prospects in the game.
MLB Pipeline rates him as the No. 96 prospect as of his debut, grading him as having a plus hit tool (60 grade) and decent power (50 grade), while still putting him at a 40 run and field and 45 arm.
Baseball America lists him at No. 97 with nearly identical grades. BA has him with a 60 hit tool and 50 power, while putting him at a 45 for speed, 50 for arm and 30 for fielding.
"Julien's combination of plate discipline and power was apparent throughout the World Baseball Classic, where he was Team Canada's best bat. His glove at second base is suspect, but his bat should be enough for first base," Baseball America's write-up reads.
