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2025 will be a pivotal year for Twins infielder Edouard Julien. Nine months from now, he will either have cemented himself as a key part of the Twins’ plans, or he will likely be out of the organization as he will be out of options and behind a number of other players on the depth chart. Coming from an impressive rookie season in 2023 to an eminently-forgettable sophomore slump in 2024. Let’s dig into what went wrong last year, and how he can get back on track.
What Went Wrong In 2024?
Unfortunately, this can be summed up by a single word: everything. Let’s start with the elephant in the room — Eddie Julien’s extreme patience at the plate transcended fully into passivity, and opposing pitchers learned they could get an easy called third strike by throwing the ball almost anywhere over the plate except middle-up. That’s…a problem. In fact, Julien led the majors in backwards Ks, despite taking fewer plate appearances than the next-worst player. Have I mentioned... that’s bad?
Unpacking the rest of the mess, Julien swung at more non-competitive pitches outside the zone, laid off pitches on the edge but in zone, and as a result, his otherworldly 15.7% walk rate in 2023 dropped to a still-very-good 11%. Similarly, his brutal 31.4% strikeout rate in 2023 rose to a Miguel Sano-esque 33.9% in 2024. That’s just not tenable unless you have 35 homer power, and Julien does not have that.
As if that’s not enough, the quality of Julien’s contact, when he made it, also decreased. In fact, he was roughly 20% worse than an average hitter, which isn’t great for a 25 year old with limited defensive chops. His hard hit percentage dropped by seven points. He lost 1.7 MPH of average swing speed. His barrel rate dropped by 3.3%. Data has shown that pulling the ball while hitting an optimal launch angle range leads to the best outcomes for doubles and home runs, and Julien stopped pulling the ball as much, while also getting well under the ball more frequently. In short, based on his swing data, Julien just wasn’t setting himself up for good at bats.
What Can Go Right In 2025?
Well, this can also be answered in a pithy way, because it would be hard to not improve across the board. Yes, Julien was that lost last season. You want a more nuanced take? Let’s get specific. First, Julien will need to get more aggressive at the plate, while also improving his pitch selection. He needs to fix his timing to cut down on the pop outs and fly ball outs. He will probably need to work with the training and coaching staffs to work on his biomechanics in order to improve his bat speed back to 2023 levels.
Now for the good news. After being sent down to Triple-A three different times, Julien worked on his approach at the plate. He was recalled on August 15th due to necessity, and looked much better for at least a few weeks. He was striking out less, hit significantly more line drives, and looked closer to the 2023 version of himself. That’s a small sample size, to be sure. With any luck, his month-long stretch in August and September was a harbinger of a rediscovered approach, because if so, that will mean some things for the Twins.
When he’s right at the plate, he’s capable of putting up an .800 OPS, and should make opposing pitchers work to get him out. When he’s right, he’s an on-base machine with moderate power. When he’s right, he’s capable of being one of the Twins’ best hitters, and a lineup building block. He just needs to prove it again. With a full offseason to work on his approach, hopefully his 2025 will look closer to his 2023 than his 2024.
And, this is certainly possible. According to Julien himself, he is currently focusing on squaring up, using the whole field, and working on his approach to pitches down in the zone.
How Will This Impact The Twins?
Rocco Baldelli gave a quote to Twins Daily’s John Bonnes, specifically relating to Jose Miranda, but it likely also applies to Julien: “It’s a healthy thing for an organization have motivated guys that are going out there and want to earn their spot and their opportunities and their at-bats. The hungrier players are, a lot of times the better version of them you get.”
Based on that quote, It’s only fair to assume that the Twins are not counting on Julien as a lock to improve, or they likely wouldn’t have added Ty France at first base, which might be Julien’s best defensive position (even though he has little time there). They likely wouldn’t have brought options like Mickey Gasper and Mike Ford, both of whom also play first base. At second, there is similar logjam, with Brooks Lee, Willi Castro, and eventually Luke Keaschall all slotting in well there.
That said, if Julien can find his 2023 form, and even take a small step forward, he will have forced the Twins hand from a playing time standpoint, and the Twins will probably be running away with the division. It will also probably mean that there’s a bit of a roster crunch that could make some things interesting at the trade deadline.
Longer-term, that will also mean that the Twins can pencil Julien in as an everyday player at an affordable, pre-arbitration rate for a couple of years. That will create some additional flexibility down the road, and make it easier to trade a young infielder, if necessary, to fill another need.
If, however, Julien can’t adjust, then it will be a case of an unheralded, late-round draft pick catching lightning in a bottle for two minor league seasons and his debut MLB season and briefly becoming a fan favorite, only for the bottom to drop out. It happens all the time, and would almost certainly lead to him being non-tendered after using his final option year in 2025.
It’ll be up to Julien to show he can make adjustments, get more aggressive at the plate, and show he’s a Major League player. Do you think he can do it? Comment below!
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