Edouard Julien Can End a Twins 27-Year Drought

[Ted Schwerzler]

The Minnesota Twins didn’t have Edouard Julien on the roster to start the 2023 Major League Baseball season, and there have been a couple of times, after being added, that he was sent back to St. Paul. Now here to stay, his performance may end a 27-year-drought for the organization.

 

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

With a strong performance during the World Baseball Classic, Edouard Julien put himself on the national map. He then started well for Triple-A St. Paul and forced his way up to the majors when the second base position became a cause for concern.

Having filled in for both Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano, it was in early June that Julien really got going after taking over for Jorge Polanco. He has played in 33 games since that recall and owns a .356/.436/.594 slash line with nine doubles and five home runs. On the season, he has nine dingers, and his 154 OPS+ is beyond impressive. It’s all reflective of a plate approach that is disciplined but focused.

Leading the Twins with 1.0 fWAR, he’s also a candidate to take home American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Among 401 rookie hitters to make their debut this season, Minnesota’s Julien ranks 10th in fWAR. Among American League hitters, he trails only former Twins prospect Luke Raley, Josh Jung, Gunnar Henderson, and Masataka Yoshida. Each of them are within striking distance with games to play however, and Julien has positioned himself well despite the fact that he has played at least 30 less games than all of them.

For Julien to continue rising toward the top of the ranks, he’ll need to stick with this consistent level of hitting. Although he is not the same batting average stalwart that former second baseman Luis Arraez is, Julien’s game has much more to it. Even while not scratching a .400 average at any point this year, Julien’s OPS is well above that of Arraez.

The league will continue trying to adjust to Julien, but he has the benefit of a weaker schedule and an already sound process. By drawing walks and attacking hittable pitches, Julien has shown an impressive output of driving the baseball. He just reached 10 homers on the season, and should land beyond fifteen when the dust settles. Racking up 20 or more doubles seems likely, and the more Minnesota can get the offense rolling, the more Julien should be expected to be in the middle of it.

Minnesota’s last Rookie of the Year winner was Marty Cordova way back in 1995. The former 10th round pick put up an .839 OPS that year and launched a career-best 24 homers. He beat out Garret Anderson and Andy Pettitte to take home the honor, and his six voting points over Anderson made it an incredibly close race.

I don’t expect Julien to run away with the award, so him winning it could provide another opportunity for a close victory. He’ll need to track down  Raley, Yoshida, and Jung first, but consistently pushing for more isn’t something that should come as a shock. Maybe Royce Lewis or Matt Wallner would have been considered the Twins favorites to factor in entering the season, but Julien has held his own and continued to overcome the pressure.

As we have seen, very little seems to phase Julien, and Rocco Baldelli will want that unwavering resolve in the batter’s box the rest of the way. If Julien can provide that, Minnesota will have a strong chance to do damage in the postseason, and he could be rewarded individually as well.

The Twins could use another Rookie of the Year award winner to get behind, and Julien’s staying power at this level looks to be something for the long haul.

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

Julien is playing very well.  Let's hope it continues and he makes the ROY race interesting.  That said, he got a pretty late start to get universal support. Most of the time, ROY candidates are up almost right away and getting on the voters' radar early in the season.  Julien is going to have to continue to be very flashy to get people in the national media (who vote on this stuff) to notice and even make it close.

[Oldgoat_MN]

Say all you want about SSS and unsustainable, this kid has some skills. Really happy for him. 

Having a couple of guys who get on base is helpful in scoring runs. With Lewis and Julian batting near .300 we get some runners. It is said that hitting is contagious. I certainly hope so.

Nice article. Thanks

 

[roger]

Are there actual requirements of X number of plate appearances to qualify for the award?  

[tony&rodney]

29 minutes ago, roger said:

Are there actual requirements of X number of plate appearances to qualify for the award?  

No. There is for batting title, but not for ROY. It is given to whomever gets the most votes.

[gman]

With 55 games played and 58 games left in the Twins schedule, not counting today, he would have to catch up with the others pretty quick. Still he is having a very good year without pressing to win the rookie of the year award.

[ashbury]

Long shot. Very long. 

Wil Myers in 2013 had a similar candidacy and won, but in a year with weak competition.  So, not impossible. 

A couple of other rookies would need to take a nose dive.  And our guy mustn't do that.  It all can happen.  Two months to go. 

I'm not pulling out the ironic "so you're telling me there's a chance" meme at this point.  It's better than one in a million.

[jkcarew]

btw, there’s no truth to the rumor that the league tried to take Córdova’s trophy back a couple of years later. None.

 

 

ok, they might have tried.

[Nashvilletwin]

Huge fan of Julien (and have been all season long).  He’s the one player now for whom I will make an extra effort to ensure I see his at bats.

Having said that, at the moment he is still practically a platoon player - starting only against RHers and being replaced defensively in nearly every game we are winning heading into the late innings.

To be the “next Arraez” he will need to continue his trajectory to become an every day player.  Rocco needs to give him that opportunity and let him build his confidence against lefties as well.

[mnfireman]

5 hours ago, roger said:

Are there actual requirements of X number of plate appearances to qualify for the award?  

Per Wikipedia: The current standard of 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club (excluding time in military service or on the injury list) before September 1 was adopted in 1971.

[mikelink45]

I love the way that Julien approaches the game.  He is the Twins ROY no matter what else happens.

[chinmusic]

The way Julien works the count is reminiscent of Mauer.

An 0-2 count doesn't seem to matter much. Impressive, especially for a rookie.

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Huge fan of Julien (and have been all season long).  He’s the one player now for whom I will make an extra effort to ensure I see his at bats.

Having said that, at the moment he is still practically a platoon player - starting only against RHers and being replaced defensively in nearly every game we are winning heading into the late innings.

To be the “next Arraez” he will need to continue his trajectory to become an every day player.  Rocco needs to give him that opportunity and let him build his confidence against lefties as well.

He’s managed, to be successful. He’s got a strikeout problem and not seeing a bunch of lefties helps reduce that issue. 70% of the pitchers are RH. He’s not good on defense!

He’s only been back up for 33 game stretch - only 104 games into the season.

Arraez won the batting title in his 4th year. Patience.

[2wins87]

Luke Raley exceeded rookie service time limits in 2021 so he doesn't qualify.

Yoshida, Jung, and Henderson all had much bigger national profiles, so I think it will be very tough to beat them in a writer's vote even if he out-plays all of them down the stretch.

Would be nice for Julien, but I just hope he can help the team make a playoff run.

[Nine of twelve]

17 hours ago, Ted Schwerzler said:

As we have seen, very little seems to phase Julien,

 

The word is faze, not phase.

[Doctor Wu]

10 hours ago, 2wins87 said:

Luke Raley exceeded rookie service time limits in 2021 so he doesn't qualify.

Yoshida, Jung, and Henderson all had much bigger national profiles, so I think it will be very tough to beat them in a writer's vote even if he out-plays all of them down the stretch.

Would be nice for Julien, but I just hope he can help the team make a playoff run.

I agree, As much as I would love to see Julien in the running, barring injuries or some sort of implosion, I think either Jung or Henderson ends up winning the award. 

[Jeff K]

18 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Huge fan of Julien (and have been all season long).  He’s the one player now for whom I will make an extra effort to ensure I see his at bats.

Having said that, at the moment he is still practically a platoon player - starting only against RHers and being replaced defensively in nearly every game we are winning heading into the late innings.

To be the “next Arraez” he will need to continue his trajectory to become an every day player.  Rocco needs to give him that opportunity and let him build his confidence against lefties as well.

He's not going to be the next Arraez which is perfectly fine.  His run production is what matters and he is tracking very nicely.