Edouard Julien Provides Ample Value at Second Base Despite Defensive Shortcomings

[DocBauer]

Completely agree his lack of quality defense can be hidden somewhat at 2B as long as it doesn't get worse, and he keeps producing offensively

 I DO think he can get better just through experience and repetition. How much better is to ne determined. Call me crazy, but I think he's looked a little better, a little smoother the past few weeks. But what I find so interesting is he almost looks better on the harder plays than the routine ones, like in the video clip shared above. When he has to range or dive and/or make a quick throw, he seems to simply react and get it done. A chopper hit right at him seems to cause issues with anticipation and timing sometimes. Is part of his defense mental? If so, he should "calm down" a bit more with time and the aforementioned experience.

The Twins know way more about him than I do, but I still wouldn't abandon trials/work at 1B and LF. Even being adequate at either spot increases lineup flexibility. But that's more for next year I'd say.

[tony&rodney]

7 hours ago, Trov said:

I do hope umps stop ringing him up on balls clearly outside the zone.  Many strike outs are on called strike 3 when they are well outside the box on the broadcast.  Many times on pitches way inside or outside.  Maybe getting the robo umps or challenges next year will help that. 

I commented on this last year when Julien faced the odd crappy umpire in AA. In AAA this year, Julien ws the beneficiary of the ABS system and being able to challenge strike calls. I have no idea why umpires make those calls (actually quite often) against Julien but way less often against either Kepler or Gallo.

Julien needs to put some of those balls in play when it is clear that an umpire struggles with the strike zone; adaptation.

[Woodridge Pheasant Farm]

Nice Writing and Information - Thanks

[twinstalker]

Well, there's redundancy in the stats you provide (vs league), sometimes extremely so.

I'm not even sure what comparing BABIP to league avg accomplishes.  It could mean he has more barrels, but that should be the stat, not BABIP.  It also could mean he's been luckier, which I think goes against your thesis.

[yeahyabetcha]

16 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

That was MiLB work not MLB work at second.  Plus I bet he does Driveline this off season.  Have some faith!

Do they use a different ball at the minor league level?  

[killertwinfan]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:55 AM, Major League Ready said:

According to Statcast, Arraez is even worse at 2B.   Julien is in the 18th percentile for OAA and Arraez in the 2nd percentile.  Why would it be better to have Arraez "entrenched" as our 2B?  One could argue that we replaced Arraez with an equivalent player and gained a very good starting pitcher.

Actually, the major implication of my suggestion is that we have both and use different assets to acquire Lopez.  So, pick your poison at second base and enjoy both bats in the line up as well as Lopez.   

[Mike Sixel]

31 minutes ago, killertwinfan said:

Actually, the major implication of my suggestion is that we have both and use different assets to acquire Lopez.  So, pick your poison at second base and enjoy both bats in the line up as well as Lopez.   

except for that part where Miami wanted Arraez.....

[Major League Ready]

38 minutes ago, killertwinfan said:

Actually, the major implication of my suggestion is that we have both and use different assets to acquire Lopez.  So, pick your poison at second base and enjoy both bats in the line up as well as Lopez.   

You are assuming Miami would accept other assets that you would rather give up and that was very unlikely.  

[tony&rodney]

Baseball has always used a ton of data as well as other thinking to build lineups and rosters. It all comes down to basically picking a team. One guy picks Royce Lewis, another guy picks Ed Julien and so forth. Then the games are played. Of course there are a host of financial and theoretical differences that combine to give the answers to who is on the roster and plays, but the decisions are made to win games. 

Right now, I like the way that Julien makes life difficult for opposing pitchers. I see his awkwardness too. He even runs a little funny. I'm not feeling too bad about his defense as long as he hits like has thus far and I think he will improve quite a bit at the plate. I'm picking Julien to play second base or DH for now and next year too.

[GeorgiaBaller]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:04 AM, DJL44 said:

One other thing to note. Julien is probably dragging down Correa's defensive numbers as they are not good together turning the double play (the Twins are near last in the league in double plays per game). That's mostly Julien's fault.

100% agree.  I really like EJ’s bat, but you can’t stomach sub par defense on a team that has a tough time punching out runs.  
I have not seen anyone else that would be missed if he took over DH.  He might suffer at the plate from not playing the field like Buxton does, but let’s try it and see.