How Does Edouard Julien Get Recalled to the Twins?

[stringer bell]

With the recall of Matt Wallner, the Twins have only one position player optioned off their 40-man roster and in the minors. That player is Edouard Julien. Julien has impressed at several levels in the past year. He had a great year at AA Wichita, performed even better in the Arizona Fall League. This spring, he has hit well in spring training, the WBC and so far in the minor leagues. The numbers from several of these stops would be classified as Small Sample Size, but it certainly appears that Julien has the potential to be a fine major league hitter and he might be ready now. He's batted leadoff mostly, which is another need for the Twins.

The problem is finding a position for Julien to play. He has played second base exclusively in the past year and profiles as below average from all reports. Earlier, Julien played some corner outfield and the infield corners in the lower minors, but the outfield and third base are probably out. Let's look at scenarios for promoting Edouard Julien.

1) Promote Julien and play him at first base. Hey, it worked for Arraez! Julien is an infielder and there certainly is a path (move Gallo back to the outfield). Given the number of current injuries to left handed hitter corner outfielders and first basemen, it kind of makes sense. As mentioned, Julien hasn't played first in some time and the understanding is that he probably would be pretty rough at first base. Another consideration is Alex Kirilloff. He is projected to be back sometime this spring. Kirilloff has a pedigree of being an outstanding hitter and a really good first baseman. If Kirilloff really is that close to coming back, it doesn't make much sense to disrupt Julien's development for a couple weeks of time at a position with which he is not familiar. 

2) Promote Julien and play him at second base. This is probably even more unlikely. Julien's "position" is second base. Second base is higher on the defensive spectrum and his substandard "D" would stand out even more. In addition, regular second baseman is Jorge Polanco is rehabbing and barring a setback will be back this month. 

3) Promote Julien and use him as the primary DH. Ahh, here it is. The Twins have used Byron Buxton exclusively at DH. Move him to center field, where he is elite, and hey we get a great potential hitter in the lineup, one that can lead off, without hurting the defense. Rocco has indicated that he will use Buxton as the DH through most of April. Beyond that, who knows? Obviously, this depends on Buxton and his health as perceived by the manager.

4) Another injury will occur, providing Julien with a clear path. Buxton has spent time on the injured List every year since it was the Disabled List. While it wouldn't be a new injury, Kirilloff is recovering from a major surgery on a crucial joint. Trevor Larnach had his last two seasons cut short by injuries. There are more guys with long enough injury histories to believe there will be a disabling injury and probably pretty soon.

Currently, the guy to send down to make room for Julien would be Willi Castro. Adding Julien and having him assume Castro's role (last man on the bench) really makes no sense, but going a utility man short probably makes sense since the Twins have a lot of multi-position players on the active roster.

[FlyingFinn]

58 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Currently, the guy to send down to make room for Julien would be Willi Castro.

Isn't Polanco coming back next week with Castro going down to the Saints.

[Fat Calvin]

I think it's too early to talk about a Julien promotion.  He's hitting, what, 259, in AAA at this very early point in the season.  Give the guy some reps in St. Paul and see where he's at mid season.

[stringer bell]

44 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Isn't Polanco coming back next week with Castro going down to the Saints.

Polanco won’t be back next week. Probably closer to the end of April. 

[dxpavelka]

Not sure who I heard this quote from but it seems spot on:  Julien is a second baseman in the same way Jorge Polanco is a shortstop.

[Jocko87]

No vote for me, I need an option for waiting.  Eventually the answer will be injury provides obvious path.  That path will have to include playing every day, other wise hes better at AAA getting daily work.  It will take an unsettling amount of injuries to get him up this early. 

[SwainZag]

36 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

No vote for me, I need an option for waiting.  Eventually the answer will be injury provides obvious path.  That path will have to include playing every day, other wise hes better at AAA getting daily work.  It will take an unsettling amount of injuries to get him up this early. 

Same for me.   Let the guy have some success at AAA before rushing him along unless he's absolutely needed.   

[jorgenswest]

My vote would be a long enough stay until he is playing a passable level at 2B. If his bat isn’t ready yet it will be before his glove.

[jkcarew]

I think as we see more of this offense, there will be pressure to bring him up sooner rather than later.

On the other hand...if Buxton is written in in granite as the DH...it does limit the options on what you can do with him. Unless you assume he can play second base. I'm not sure exactly how the Twins feel about that.

Meanwhile, he's showing signs of becoming more and more of a three-true-outcome guy. Big K% so far in St. Paul...but good OBP, and pretty good power. He seems like he'd potentially be 'just like Gallo' offensively...at least as he acclimates to major-league pitching. Not that that wouldn't be better than what we're getting from quite a few guys right now.

[2wins87]

I think at lower levels his extreme patience masked some of the swing and miss that was always there.  Pitchers in the lower levels just don't throw as many strikes, but in the upper levels taking early will tend to get him in 2 strike counts much more often.  He's never been a contact guy with K rates in the high 20 percentage range, so it's probably pretty realistic to expect 30%+ in the majors.

Watching him in AAA this year I've actually been reminded a bit of Mauer with his heavily opposite-field approach.  He doesn't have Mauer's contact ability though, so he can't afford to always be getting deep into counts as much as Mauer did.  I have seen some signs that he seems to be selectively attacking early in counts a bit more.  I think that's the key for him, to be disciplined and selective not necessarily just patient, and I think he's getting there.

I agree with letting him get more established in AAA unless there is a pressing need in the majors.  I thought there might be more support for an immediate call-up based on some of the hype he's seemed to have over the last month, despite being mostly unknown by fans prior to the last year.  I believe in the bat but he's not the kind of can't miss prospect that we ought to be upset about being kept down too long. 

I'm also not sure I see the defense getting a whole lot better.  He doesn't have great hands or the agility/arm to make all the plays going to his right at 2B.  I suspect he will end up seeing a lot more 1B and DH once he makes the majors but will work on getting as much experience making plays at 2B as he can for the time being.

[Cory Engelhardt]

I think IF Polanco and Kirilloff are both going to be back this month (let's say that's the case) then I think Julien will have a hard time getting called up unless/until another major injury happens. Which could be at any point, right? 

I do think more and more that Kepler is the one who is going to have to fight to save his job. With Gallo looking solid so far this year, if he and Kirilloff and Larnach are all healthy, I don't know how Kepler gets at bats in front of them. 

Once Buxton starts playing more and more in the field, probably starting in May, that will open up more options for a player like Julien.

Keep hitting at St. Paul and force the issue. 

[4twinsJA]

Not a problem at the moment, Julien doing OK at AAA hitting, struggling in the field. I don't look for Kirilloff until June, still in extended spring training. Will most likely see extended time at AAA. I like Gallo at 1B, if hitting well enough. No need to rush either Julien or Kirilloff.

[nicksaviking]

This seems pretty clear, they need to put him at first base and when Gallo is healthy put him in CF or at least platoon him there. Michael Taylor needs to be a part time player at most, he just cannot hit enough to continue starting. This is not a SSS issue, he has NEVER been good enough offensively to be a starter.

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

This seems pretty clear, they need to put him at first base and when Gallo is healthy put him in CF or at least platoon him there. Michael Taylor needs to be a part time player at most, he just cannot hit enough to continue starting. This is not a SSS issue, he has NEVER been good enough offensively to be a starter.

100% this. Gallo in center and Wallner in right and Larnach in left, and Julien at first. I understand they don't want to be on their 9th best OF again this year......

[4twinsJA]

Gallo played on game in RF and got hurt. I have hard time seeing him play much CF.

[Mike Sixel]

8 minutes ago, 4twinsJA said:

Gallo played on game in RF and got hurt. I have hard time seeing him play much CF.

He's been an OF his whole career, and elite defensively.......

[stringer bell]

Gallo hasn’t played much centerfield since 2019. I don’t think he’s elite in center field and while he’s good in the corners, that is way down on the defensive spectrum. The difference between Gallo and Kepler/Larnach/Gordon in the corner OF is negligible IMHO. That he is decent at first (and a big target) and the options in the corners are also more than acceptable defenders argue for Gallo at first until Kirilloff or some permanent option is in place. 

[chpettit19]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

100% this. Gallo in center and Wallner in right and Larnach in left, and Julien at first. I understand they don't want to be on their 9th best OF again this year......

Offense is more important than defense, but not by this much. That lineup could be the worst defensive team in baseball.

[IndianaTwin]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:42 PM, stringer bell said:

Polanco won’t be back next week. Probably closer to the end of April. 

That he played five innings on defense on Thursday and six more on Saturday makes me think it could be sooner than that. With beautimous weather forecasted for all week here in Indiana, I'll take a guess that he joins the Saints in Indy sometime this week and then joins the Twins for the start of their homestand on the 21st.

[KirbyHawk75]

These are the Twins we are talking about.  3 projected Starters in the lineup are in the IL (Kirlioff, Polanco, Kepler), two other starters are hurt (Correa and Gallo). Buxton is due. There will be more injuries unfortunately,  he will be called up soon.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

If Nick Gordon doesn't show some life soon, it could be sooner rather than later.

[DocBauer]

I think Julien Is a potential hitting STUD. But not only has he never played at AAA until now, but he's blocked by players in front of him. 

1] Polanco is actually playing and ramping up. He might need another week or two, but unless he has a setback, he'll be up soon. Castro goes down. 

2] Gallo is covering 1B well but SHOULD be in RF until there is a better option at 1B. That could be Kirilloff, eventually, hopefully, but not immediate. And Julien SHOULD be able to handle 1B based on talent and some experience there. But so far, Solano has been the solid player he was expected to be. So is the block Kepler? Even as a fan of Kepler for years, and his having a good ST, at some point don't we all have to admit he's just a liability in the lineup? Even as a long time Max fan, I'd rather run with Wallner at RF and leave Gallo at 1B for now, and move on from Kepler, even though it's early. I just don't see the upside, sorry to say. Even if Wallner starts to look good, he still has options if something different happens at 1B to alow Gallo to return  to the OF.

Even then, with Polanco at 2B and a POTENTIAL conundrum at 1B and potentially DH, we have to evaluate Gallo and Walner in RF. And it's actually a good "problem" to have. I think, unfortunately, part of putting the best lineup the Twins could have is making a late move from Kepler to Gallo and Wallner and Salono and Julien and even AK at1B and RF and DH. Problem is, other than Kepler, who else loses AB in this scenario? It's a good problem to have for sure. 

Injuries happen, and will happen. And Julien will get his opportunity sooner rather than later. It's just the way of things. But it surprises me how much we focus on Julien and forget we have a potentially difference maker in Wallner, not to mention Kirilloff a month or two  from now. It's OK for Julien to focus at AAA hitting and defense for now. He will get his opportunity.  It just stinks, as a fan of Kepler, that the lineup has to be potentially better without him and a shuffle of the roster without him.

[dxpavelka]

On 4/9/2023 at 10:54 AM, Jocko87 said:

No vote for me, I need an option for waiting.  Eventually the answer will be injury provides obvious path.  That path will have to include playing every day, other wise hes better at AAA getting daily work.  It will take an unsettling amount of injuries to get him up this early. 

Solano's batting 3rd or 4th these days.  Is that unsettling enough?

 

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

Solano's batting 3rd or 4th these days.  Is that unsettling enough?

 

Yeah.  It's a bitch having someone hitting .293 batting 3rd or 4th.  Get rid of the bum!

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

Solano's batting 3rd or 4th these days.  Is that unsettling enough?

 

No, it will be significant IL time.  I may be in the minority but I'm fully onboard with Solano over Julien it all situations.  For now. 

[dxpavelka]

7 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Yeah.  It's a bitch having someone hitting .293 batting 3rd or 4th.  Get rid of the bum!

27 career home runs in TEN years.  Nobody signed him until pitchers & catchers reported.  But, luckily, our guys are smarter than everyone else's guys and we got him.  World Series here we come.

 

[Craig Arko]

I expect it will be either by bus or plane.

[nicksaviking]

17 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Offense is more important than defense, but not by this much. That lineup could be the worst defensive team in baseball.

I don't think Gallo would be as bad as advertised, probably similar to when the Twins needed to put Kepler in CF back in the day. If that's not doable, then they have to give Kyle Farmer an OF glove and tell him to learn fast. Taylor and Castro cannot be regular starters, they should be 1-2 times per week subs. Gordon's looking like last year was a fluke too. They've scored more than three runs only three times this year. Yesterday they should have scored one but the White Sox gave them two freebies. They're above .500 and there's no need to panic right now, but if they go on a skid, they're going to have to at least try to put the best offense out there that they can, even if it's a suboptimal defense.

The worst defensive team in baseball won the World Series last year. I doubt the worst offensive team ever has.

Also, for the first fifth of this century this would have seemed unfathomable, but the Twins pitchers are leading the league in K% at 30%. The pitchers are finally getting outs all on their own now.

[chpettit19]

25 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I don't think Gallo would be as bad as advertised. If that's not doable, then they have to give Kyle Farmer an OF glove and tell him to learn fast. Taylor and Castro cannot be regular starters, they should be 1-2 times per week subs. Gordon's looking like last year was a fluke too. They've scored more than three runs only three times this year. Yesterday they should have scored one but the White Sox gave them two freebies. They're above .500 and there's no need to panic right now, but if they go on a skid, they're going to have to at least try to put the best offense out there they can, screw the defense.

The worst defensive team in baseball won the World Series last year. I doubt the worst offensive team ever has.

Also, ten years ago this would have seemed unfathomable, but the Twins pitchers are leading the league in K% at 30%. The pitchers are finally getting outs all on their own now.

Gallo is an emergency use in CF only player now. Especially if you flank him with Larnach and Wallner. I mean I'm pretty sure we could put together a team of 3 TD users and beat those 3 in a relay race. That'd be an absolutely horrific defensive outfield. Then both Julien and Miranda in the IF and you're talking Chicago-esque fielding. 

The Astros were the worst defensive team in baseball last year? I don't think that's accurate. Fielding bible had them tied for 4th best. Fangraphs also had them 4th best. Baseball reference had them...you guessed it, 4th! Chicago was the worst defense in baseball last year. And didn't make the playoffs.

Yeah, they built this team around pitching and defense with hopefully just enough offense. It was a risky move. Trading in the defense for an offense that still wouldn't be top 10 wouldn't, in my opinion, win them more games. You're asking them to go to a White Sox level defense while also acknowledging the White Sox handed them 2 free runs yesterday. If they're giving out free runs they not only need their lineup to make up the runs you're asking now, but also all the free ones they'd give up. Gallo, Wallner, and Julien (3 guys you're asking to "save" the offense) would combine for 500+ Ks if they were everyday guys the rest of this year. 

I fully agree that this current lineup isn't good enough. But completely destroying the defense for an offense that wouldn't be top 10 wouldn't fix the problem. They need Buxton in CF, Polanco at 2B, and Miranda, Larnach, Kirilloff, Lewis to be the players they expect as soon as possible. There's not enough offense to make up for the defense by simply swapping out their fielders for their better hitters. Their better hitters aren't good enough.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, Craig Arko said:

I expect it will be either by bus or plane.

Or if both the Twins and Saints are at home. 

Light Rail

Uber

He might have a personal vehicle in St. Paul. 

We also can't rule out the possibility of hitching a ride. Who knows... Dave St. Peter or Rocco might drive over and pick him up.