Edouard Julien and José Miranda Are Floundering in Triple-A

[twinstalker]

They're pretty different.  Miranda can hit, Julien will have to change his approach to hit, and that's not a simple thing.

If they need a 40 spot, I wouldn't blink if they let Julien go.  Miranda I'd hesitate, but only because he has the ability to hit at the MLB level when all is normal.  But I wouldn't get my shorts in a bunch.  As we see, guys off the scrap heap can replace this sort.

Gasper is sort of funny, and I'd love to see a breakdown of what he hits and doesn't hit at both AAA and MLB, meaning what pitches at what speeds, etc. etc.

[Fatbat]

They will likely both figure out the issues at some point. Miranda has higher upside if he can get fully healthy. Julien is more of a ghost since he is more replaceable by LK, Culpepper and a half dozen other guys that will be knocking the MLB door down over the next 2 seasons. 

[Mike Sixel]

Just completely unexpected. 

[TheLeviathan]

37 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Just completely unexpected. 

Especially Julien.  His hitting approach seemed so damn solid and then....wham.  He's awful.

[LambchoP]

Unless they can turn things around, I think they've been passed up on the depth chart by Keaschal, Lee, Clemens, Bride, maybe eventually Eeles. I doubt we could recoup anything in a trade for them, but we need some better infielders in our system.

[D.C Twins]

 "he's still only 26 years old"    Not young at all.... both have been passed or soon will be passed by other younger prospects.

Neither is part of the long-term plan for a contending Twins team anymore 

[Morland]

I suspect they could be included in any mid-season trades as a change of scenery candidate, but we couldn't get much for either on their own. I agree that there's more hope for Miranda as his problems might be injury related. As for Julien he has to figure out that he's not Ted Williams and umpires aren't going to give the benefit of the doubt on close pitches and that he's going to have to learn to hit them. I'm not optimistic that he can adjust.

[DocBauer]

I guess im the opposite in belief for these guys. I actually think Julien has the better chance to figure it out. Julien DID have power until recently and his game has been about a good approach of looking for a pitch, controlling the zone, and taking a good number of BB along with some K's. I see him as a lighter power Wallner in approach. But from May 1st of 2024 he's just been a MESS in a bizarre mix of being too aggressive at times, and too passive at other times.

Miranda has an ingrained belief that making contact with anything he can reach is a good thing. But that leads over and over to swings and misses or weak contact. A few times in his career...including his breakout MILB season...he has been able to reign in that instinct and he's looked excellent. I just don't know that he can overcome that "make contact with anything/everything" instinct he has.

Of course I root for both guys to figure it out. But with Lee growing as a MlB player, with Keaschall as top prospect, with guys like Schobel, Culpepper, and DeBarge flashing and just getting better and better, I'm just not sure if either has a future with the Twins at this point.

 

[exeoud]

Yeah they are beyond cooked. Simply don't have the mental to play in the big leagues and are bad defenders and baserunners. Need to get guys like that out of the organization. Alcala being another good example, can't pitch with a runner on base.

[bean5302]

16 hours ago, DocBauer said:

... Julien DID have power until recently...

 

What power? Every stop of Julien's along the way with 200+ PA with ISO. In regard to ISO, I'd say:
.000-.124 = No Power
.125-.150 = Light power 5-9 HR
.150-.199 = Some pop to mediocre power 10-19 HR
.200-.249 = Above average power tool 20+ HR guy
.250-.299 = True power hitter 30+ HR guy
.300+ = Elite power 40+ HR guy


a22 - A, ISO = .156
a22 - A+, ISO = .247
a23 - AA, ISO = .190
a24 - MLB, ISO = .195
a25 - AAA, ISO = .167
a25 - MLB, ISO = .124
a26 - AAA, ISO = .071 (only 94 PA)
a26 - MLB, ISO = .121 (only 104 PA)

Julien typically hangs out in that mediocre power area. He's got a little more home run pop than Miranda, but not much. Same real category. Miranda managed an ISO of .157 and .158 in his two full seasons in MLB.

Julien having power is I think the same perception people had of Alex Kirilloff, who also did not have much game power, but fans thought he did for some reason?

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, bean5302 said:

What power? Every stop of Julien's along the way with 200+ PA with ISO. In regard to ISO, I'd say:
.000-.124 = No Power
.125-.150 = Light power 5-9 HR
.150-.199 = Some pop to mediocre power 10-19 HR
.200-.249 = Above average power tool 20+ HR guy
.250-.299 = True power hitter 30+ HR guy
.300+ = Elite power 40+ HR guy


a22 - A, ISO = .156
a22 - A+, ISO = .247
a23 - AA, ISO = .190
a24 - MLB, ISO = .195
a25 - AAA, ISO = .167
a25 - MLB, ISO = .124
a26 - AAA, ISO = .071 (only 94 PA)
a26 - MLB, ISO = .121 (only 104 PA)

Julien typically hangs out in that mediocre power area. He's got a little more home run pop than Miranda, but not much. Same real category. Miranda managed an ISO of .157 and .158 in his two full seasons in MLB.

Julien having power is I think the same perception people had of Alex Kirilloff, who also did not have much game power, but fans thought he did for some reason?

taking your categories at face value and numbering them from 1 (weakest) to 6 (most powerful), Julien's gone from a guy who was in category 3 or 4 for 3 season before falling all the way down to category 1. That's a significant drop-off in power, which is the point: Julien used to show some pop in his bat (even if he wasn't a slugger) and right now he's got nothing. He doesn't need to be a big-time slugger, but he has to be at least a threat and right now no one is going to fear him.

Julien looks like he has a lot of work to do, and I don't expect to see him back any time soon. I hope he figures it out.