Twins Minor League Report (8/24): Edouard Julien is Him

[Andrew Mahlke]

Edouard Julien destroyed Jack Leiter. There were two extra-inning thrillers. Jordan Balazovic took the hill again. And there was a four-hour rain delay. Read about all of this and more in Wednesday’s minor league report!

Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.

TRANSACTIONS

• The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick on a rehab assignment to AAA St. Paul

SAINTS (AAA)
St. Paul 2, Iowa 4
Box Score

The Saints did not start the day well for the Twins minor league affiliates as they fell 4-2 to the Iowa Cubs in an afternoon game.

Jordan Balazovic took the ball for St. Paul in this one. Balazovic has had a rough year as he was 0-5 with a 9.26 ERA and a 7.41 FIP coming into today’s game. Balazovic’s first two innings were scoreless on Wednesday, and he was looking like he had maybe written the ship and turned it around. This all changed in the bottom of the third when Iowa put up two runs on four hits, including three straight two-out singles to produce the runs.

Balazovic allowed John Hicks to hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, increasing Iowa’s lead to three runs. Balazovic now has allowed 16 home runs in 49 ⅔ innings for St. Paul this year, which equates to 2.9 HR per 9 innings. To put that number into perspective, Twins fan favorite, Emilio Pagan, has allowed 2.1 HR/9 this year.

Despite the lead-off homer, Balazovic bounced back and struck out two batters to end the fourth and his outing. Balazovic went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three.

The Saints got the deficit within one in the top of the seventh thanks to solo homers from Braden Bishop and Michael Helman.

Iowa gave themselves some breathing room in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer off of Jharel Cotton to increase the lead to two.

Jermaine Palacios led off the ninth with a single to get the tying run to the plate, but nothing sufficed, and the Saints dropped the game 4-2.

Kyle Garlick played in the first game of his rehab stint and went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts.

Helman, Bishop, Matt Wallner, and Mark Contreras all had two-hit games to lead the offense. Drew Strotman and Jovani Moran combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief to keep the Saints in the game.

The Saints fall to 57-60 on the year with the loss.

WIND SURGE (AA)
Wichita 4, Frisco 0
Box Score

The Wichita Wind Surge continued their incredible season and defeated Jack Leiter in a very well-played game on Wednesday night.

Edouard Julien continued his incredible season by hitting his 16th homer of the year in the top of the first. Julien is now hitting .294 with a .944 OPS at Double-A this year.

This gave Wichita starter Cody Laweryson a lead before he ever stepped on the mound. Laweryson never relinquished this early lead and was fantastic, throwing 4 ⅔ scoreless innings while striking out six, dropping his Double-A ERA to 0.92.

The Wind Surge tacked on insurance runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. In the sixth, Jair Camargo walked, scoring Julien. In the seventh, Austin Martin doubled to score DaShawn Keirsey Jr. In the ninth, Will Holland hit his third Double-A homer to increase the lead to four.

Francis Peguero, Ryan Horstman, Alex Phillips, and Steven Cruz combined to throw 4 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief to finish the game, striking out five. Peguero was credited with the win as Wichita moved to 66-49.

Julien, Keirsey, and Alex Isola all had two hits to lead the offensive charge. On Thursday, Wichita will turn to Daniel Gossett who is fresh off a no-hitter.

KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 9, Lake County 10
Box Score

Cedar Rapids dropped an extra-inning thriller to Lake County on Wednesday by a score of 10-9.

The Kernels jumped out to an early lead, putting up five runs in the first inning. Mikey Perez led off with a single, advanced on an error, and was singled home by Brooks Lee. After Seth Gray walked, Jake Rucker smoked a double to score Lee and Gray. The next batter was Wander Javier, who hit his 11th homer of the year to give the Kernels a five run lead before they had recorded an out.

The beneficiary of all this run support was Sean Mooney, who was making his first start since being activated from the injured list. Mooney just threw one inning and only faced three batters, getting two strikeouts and a flyout.

After Mooney’s scoreless inning, Orlando Rodriguez came in as the bulk reliever for the Kernels. Rodriguez threw 4 ⅔ solid innings, allowing two runs while striking out four. After Orlando was done, the Kernels brought in Miguel Rodriguez who allowed three runs while just getting two outs as Lake County tied the game up at five in the bottom of the seventh.

After not scoring from innings two through seven, the Kernels saw the game was tied and had to get it going. After Willie Joe Garry Jr. was hit by a pitch, Charles Mack smashed a two-run homer, his third of the year to give Cedar Rapids the lead. In the ninth, they added another insurance run thanks to a Mikey Perez homer.

Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels had a three-run lead and the game was close to done. Well, three batters into the ninth Lake County had tied it up thanks to a three-run homer from Korey Holland.

Garry Jr. tied it up in the top of the tenth with an RBI single but Lake County answered in the bottom half to send it to 11 innings. In the 11th, Cedar Rapids did not capitalize and Lake County did, walking off Cedar Rapids in 11 innings.

Rucker led the offense with three hits, and Perez, Lee, and Dylan Neuse also chipped in with two hits a piece. Ryan Shreve was credited with the loss for Cedar Rapids as their record falls to 68-48.

MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 7, Lakeland 6
Box Score

After a four hour weather delay, Fort Myers delivered a walk-off victory in eight innings over the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Mike Paredes started on the hill for the Mighty Mussels. He went four innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out one batter.

Fort Myers got on the board in the first inning when Tanner Schobel singled, scoring Noah Miller.

In the bottom of the fourth, Rubel Cespedes scored Ben Ross with a single to cut the Fort Myers deficit to one run. Then the rain came.

Four hours later, the two teams resumed. Four hours after he hit a single, Cespedes came in to score on a wild pitch. One batter later, Misael Urbina drove in Carlos Aguiar with a single to give the Mighty Mussels a lead.

The Flying Tigers tied it up in the top of the fifth and the game remained 4-4 until the first extra inning they played (the 8th inning). Juan Mendez came in to pitch for Fort Myers and allowed two runs in the top half of the eighth. With three outs to play with, Fort Myers needed a rally.

Kala’i Rosario led off, reaching on an error by the second baseman to score Cespedes, who started the inning on second base. After an Aguiar walk, Luis Baez hit a single to score Rosario and tie it up. On the play, Aguiar was thrown out at home and Baez advanced to third.

Three pitches later, Baez scored on a wild pitch to walk it off for Fort Myers.

Schobel and Ross each had two hits to lead the offense, and Mendez picked up the win to improve his record to 3-2. Fort Myers improves to 62-50 on the year with the win.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cody Laweryson (Wichita) - 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B (15), HR (16), 2 R, RBI, K

PROSPECT SUMMARY

We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 

Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-6, RBI
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B (10), RBI, BB, 2 K
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, 2B (12), R, BB
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, K
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B (15), HR (16), 2 R, RBI, K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, RBI, BB, SB (2)
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 1.64 ERA)
Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (2-1, 2.74 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (0-2, 8.03 ERA)
Lakeland @ Fort Myers (Doubleheader - first game starts at 3:30 PM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!

Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!

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[Danchat]

Can Julien play OF? Why not just promote him to the majors straight away, and if he struggles, then send him to AAA. We need something and he's hot, and will be added to the 40 man before December... might as well over the likes of Beckham and Cave!

[Mike Sixel]

22 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Can Julien play OF? Why not just promote him to the majors straight away, and if he struggles, then send him to AAA. We need something and he's hot, and will be added to the 40 man before December... might as well over the likes of Beckham and Cave!

That's what Atlanta has been doing.....

[roger]

So often the Twins top draft picks struggle as they deal with all the changes and stress of professional ball.  Some overcome their problems, many never do.  So it is amazing to me to see Brooks Lee step onto the diamond and play like a star.  And he’s doing it at Hi-A.  Will this continue?  Is he so good he could be a special player?

Will third the above comments about Julien.  Seems he can just flat out hit, and get on base.  Add his speed and he could be an exciting player for the Twins.  

Will the big club make massive changes this winter?  Should they?  Could Julien be part of the solution?  Looking to the future there is Royce Lewis, Julien and Lee.  How does this trio fit on the same team?

[RJA]

20 minutes ago, roger said:

Will the big club make massive changes this winter?  Should they?  Could Julien be part of the solution?  Looking to the future there is Royce Lewis, Julien and Lee.  How does this trio fit on the same team?

Great questions.  I think there need to be big changes this winter, which is a topic for another day.   I think these three players (assuming Lewis recovers from a second surgery), together with Miranda, Larnach, hopefully Kirilloff, Arraez, Buxton, and Polanco should make a pretty good core, and should happen sometime next year.  Julien is an exciting prospect.  They should give him a hard look next spring, and even if he goes to St. Paul, he should arrive sometime next summer.  He has the makings of a professional hitter--good power, great eye, and drives the ball consistently.  Plus, he has great speed and steals bases.  I know, I know we shouldn't look to next year, but.....

[Linus]

My understanding is that he is mediocre in the field with no real positional home. Can someone verify?

[Seth Stohs]

3 minutes ago, Linus said:

My understanding is that he is mediocre in the field with no real positional home. Can someone verify?

I think that's fair... He's best at second base, probably. Has played some 3B. Just a few games in LF. 

[DJL44]

25 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

I think that's fair... He's best at second base, probably. Has played some 3B. Just a few games in LF. 

I think that might be part of the problem. The Twins would like to develop him more as a second baseman but his bat is ahead of his glove right now. His bat is ready for AAA but his glove probably isn't. They will need to make a decision on his future positions at fall instructionals. If he isn't making improvement at 2B it's probably time to move him to LF.

Unfortunately they have to make the same decision on Austin Martin who isn't a SS but keeps playing most of his games there.

[mikelink45]

Julien and Wallner sure seem better than Beckham and Cave. Go for it. We are seeing more young players so take the chance. 

[terrydactyls]

I disagree.  Let's take a quick, outside-the-box look at 2023.  Here is my starting eight position players.

C.  Alex Isola 

1B.  Luis Arraez

2B.  Eduard Julian 

SS.  Jermaine Palacios 

3B.  Jose Miranda 

LF.  Trevor Larnach 

CF.  Byron Buxton 

RF.  Alex Kirilloff 

Bench 1.  Ryan Jeffers 

Bench2.  Gilberto Celestino 

Bench3.  Nick Gordon 

Bench4.  TBD

SP1.  Joe Ryan 

SP2.  Kenta Maeda 

SP3.  Tyler Mahle 

SP4.  Sonny Gray 

SP5.  Chris Paddock

RP1.  Jhoan Duran 

RP2.  Jorge Lopez 

RP3.  Jovani Moran 

RP4.  Michael Fulmer 

RP5.  Griffen Jax 

RP6.  Caleb Theilbar 

RP7.  Cole Sands 

RP8.  Josh Winder 

RP9.  TBD 

That's a 26-man roster with two vacancies.  Rounding the second year salaries to an even $1M and giving arbitration-eligible players a small bump, this results in about a $77M payroll.  Using $130M as the target budget, this gives the Twins $53M with which to find another corner outfielder and a starting pitcher.  It also would give them an opportunity to replace a couple of relief pitchers that I have listed above.  When do we start on 2024? ?❓

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DJL44]

25 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

I disagree.  Let's take a quick, outside-the-box look at 2023.  Here is my starting eight position players.

C.  Alex Isola 

Isola isn't even a starting catcher in AA. Players who start at catcher in the big leagues play more than 20 games there in the minors the season before. He's played more games at DH and at 1B than C. He should probably win the job in Wichita before you hand him the job in Minneapolis.

[DJL44]

45 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Julien and Wallner sure seem better than Beckham and Cave. Go for it. We are seeing more young players so take the chance. 

Wallner has a .202/.326/.342 slash line in AAA. Julien has yet to play a game at that level.

I'm not sure people understand how big of a jump it is from AA to the big leagues. If you aren't one of the 10 best players in AA you're probably not ready for the majors. This feels like all the football posts you see with people begging for the backup QB. Then once they actually see the backup QB in action they're begging for the starter to return.

[TwinsDr2021]

45 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

IWhen do we start on 2024? ?❓

 

 

That lineup looks terrible and the pitching staff doesn't do anything for me either, and did you leave Ober off for a reason?

 

[Doctor Gast]

Very encouraged w/ Laweryson, have very high hope in him. Just because Julien won't stick at SS doesn't mean he won't be good defensively somewhere else.

Beckman & Cave should be sent down, Palacios & maybe Conteras should be called up. I'd like to give Wallner a shot but IMO we can't afford to see how fast he can adjust to MLB (& his glove?).

[puckstopper1]

Looks like Batting Practice Balazovic showed up again ?.  Besides major injuries his performance is the most concerning thing about the minor league season to me thus far.  At least he is getting some innings in.

It is interesting that Texas started Leiter in AA.  He certainly is taking his lumps there.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

I disagree.  Let's take a quick, outside-the-box look at 2023.  Here is my starting eight position players.

[snip]

That's a 26-man roster with two vacancies.  Rounding the second year salaries to an even $1M and giving arbitration-eligible players a small bump, this results in about a $77M payroll.  Using $130M as the target budget, this gives the Twins $53M with which to find another corner outfielder and a starting pitcher.  It also would give them an opportunity to replace a couple of relief pitchers that I have listed above.  When do we start on 2024? ?❓

So, Isola isn't going to be ready for MLB in 2023. Paddack won't be ready for the start of the season (maybe by midseason). Fulmer is a FA, so slotting him in seems premature. Polanco is still under contract...where is he? Kepler is still under contract as well. Team can't carry 14 pitchers next season; MLB rosters will be a max of 13. There's no question the Twins will have room in the budget to add, especially if Correa opts out, but this early roster has a lot of "yeah...no" to it.

Julien is a really interesting prospect; I expect him to start next year in AAA and be looked at as an injury replacement early, especially if he shows real positional flexibility and not just "we can put him there, but he's gonna butcher it".

[Danchat]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I'm not sure people understand how big of a jump it is from AA to the big leagues. If you aren't one of the 10 best players in AA you're probably not ready for the majors. This feels like all the football posts you see with people begging for the backup QB. Then once they actually see the backup QB in action they're begging for the starter to return.

It is a massive leap, but we're talking about replacing Cave/Beckham with Julien, not doing something like replacing Kepler. Cave/Beckham have nothing to offer at the MLB level and there is a small chance that Julien could, and putting him on the 40 man won't be a problem. It's more a comparison of replacing a practice squad/backup QB who is starting with a rookie, since the starter is hurt.

[DJL44]

The plan to replace Cave/Beckham has already started 

Quote

• The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick on a rehab assignment to AAA St. Paul

Beckham should be outrighted by September 1.

They're not going to add Julien because (assuming Larnach returns) they would be burning an option on him before the season is through.

Julien should be playing everyday somewhere and is likely to see AAA in September simply because the Double-A season ends earlier.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Wallner has a .202/.326/.342 slash line in AAA. Julien has yet to play a game at that level.

I'm not sure people understand how big of a jump it is from AA to the big leagues. If you aren't one of the 10 best players in AA you're probably not ready for the majors. This feels like all the football posts you see with people begging for the backup QB. Then once they actually see the backup QB in action they're begging for the starter to return.

And yet, Atlanta is doing it, rather than play obviously bad players. Twice this year. 

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think that might be part of the problem. The Twins would like to develop him more as a second baseman but his bat is ahead of his glove right now. His bat is ready for AAA but his glove probably isn't. They will need to make a decision on his future positions at fall instructionals. If he isn't making improvement at 2B it's probably time to move him to LF.

Unfortunately they have to make the same decision on Austin Martin who isn't a SS but keeps playing most of his games there.

They've tried the OF with Julien. And they've kept him in the infield. Similar to Luis Arraez. Sure, we can try out the LF thing, but now let's keep him far from the outfield. Similar to Nick Gordon, who was tossed into the OF last year, having never really played it, and now that is his position. At this point, Julien is always going to be bat-first. I'd also add that the reason to play him other places is because Polanco and Arraez can play 2B. Julien is also another LH batter. 

Also, when healthy, LF should go to Larnach and/or Kirilloff (depending on 1B situation). 

They know that Martin can play CF. They want him capable of playing short, and he's been pretty solid since coming back from the IL. He can play 3B, 2B, LF, CF if needed. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Isola isn't even a starting catcher in AA. Players who start at catcher in the big leagues play more than 20 games there in the minors the season before. He's played more games at DH and at 1B than C. He should probably win the job in Wichita before you hand him the job in Minneapolis.

Correct. I like Isola and I have tweeted several times that I think he'll play in the big leagues... but that's as a #2/3 catcher who can play 1B, maybe even DH at times because he's got a strong approach at the plate and some power to go with it.  But yeah, he's no Ryan Jeffers, who should, when healthy, start 110-120 games behind the plate. 

[Seth Stohs]

25 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

And yet, Atlanta is doing it, rather than play obviously bad players. Twice this year. 

Agreed... Now, the guys that Atlanta has called up are top prospects. I actually think that Julien's bat would be much more ready for the big leagues than Wallners just because he's got such a great approach at the plate. Wallner will be a decent MLBer, I think, with a lot of power, but he might strike out 50% of the time if called up right now. I'd be curious what Julien could do. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

Agreed... Now, the guys that Atlanta has called up are top prospects. I actually think that Julien's bat would be much more ready for the big leagues than Wallners just because he's got such a great approach at the plate. Wallner will be a decent MLBer, I think, with a lot of power, but he might strike out 50% of the time if called up right now. I'd be curious what Julien could do. 

Do you think Wallner just needs more time to adapt to his buy-in philosophy of looking for better pitches and taking walks if the pitches aren't there to hit? He really took a huge step forward this year, but it's got to be hard to suddenly find the balance of what's too aggressive and what's too passive?

[TwinsAce]

2 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

They know that Martin can play CF. They want him capable of playing short, and he's been pretty solid since coming back from the IL. He can play 3B, 2B, LF, CF if needed. 

I didn't realize how much the Twins have focused on SS (with the occasional CF game) for Martin since 5/14.  29 games into the season he had 15 starts at SS (7 errors) with 6 at 2nd, 5 at CF, and a few additional DH and LF/RF games.  Since then, he has only played CF 2 times and DH 1 time it looks like.  I definitely thought he was still playing around the field more often.

I guess some of that is because they gave Steer the occasional start at SS and they had Kevin Merrell.  Kevin was brought up to the Saints on May 7th and back down May 24th, but released in July.  Steer went up to the Saints on May 24th. But also since then they seemed to give him off days rather than play a different position. (Likely due to his results and other teammates doing better.) Yake, Ozoria, Prato, and Knight are the others who have started at SS. 

Glad to hear since the injury he has looked better in the field too.  Even if he doesn't make it at SS, any sort of confidence should help and potentially help his hitting too.

Always love seeing your tidbits here and there, Seth.

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Agreed... Now, the guys that Atlanta has called up are top prospects. I actually think that Julien's bat would be much more ready for the big leagues than Wallners just because he's got such a great approach at the plate. Wallner will be a decent MLBer, I think, with a lot of power, but he might strike out 50% of the time if called up right now. I'd be curious what Julien could do. 

I doubt he could be worse than Beckham at this point, or Cave. Why not try? 

Anyway, hope you are well.

[Seth Stohs]

17 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

I doubt he could be worse than Beckham at this point, or Cave. Why not try? 

Anyway, hope you are well.

I wouldn't mind seeing either one of them up. They both are clearly guys that will be added to the 40-man roster anyway, so they can call them up ahead of time. Only negative would be losing an option year if/when Garlick and/or Larnach and/or Buxton come back. However, if they're already in the big leagues, and they're not ready by 2025, then we probably won't be terribly upset if they are DFAd in 2025. 

[DocBauer]

Just STICKING someone in LF isn't an easy answer. You have to expect at least average defense or you are asking for trouble. Julien has played some OF, it's not foreign territory to him. Maybe he just lacks the ability to judge the ball off the bat? That's a major issue. Maybe he needs to stick to 1B/2B/3B, all of which he's played at some point. But I sure would work him hard at instructs and maybe the AFL in LF to see if he can stick there. At some point, always thought Larnach might take over RF and either Martin or Julien might settle in LF. If nothing else, Julien just being acceptable in LF increases roster/lineup flexibility and gets him on the field.

Regarding Martin, the Twins have previously stated they believe he is an OF natural right now. Probably the reason they've been so determined to keep him at SS to see if he can actually develop and stick there. IMO, at some point, you have to make a decision that it just might not work and just let Martin play mostly OF and hope the bat comes around. 

Beckham is a filler RH bat because they don't have another one to call up. Cave is an OF filler because everyone else is injured. Honestly, even if you decide not to protect him, I'd just as soon see OF Helman up to play OF and provide a RH bat. Not sure he wouldn't hit better than Cave, provide a platoon option with Gordon, and fill a role until/if Garlick is ready. He's got talent, is having a solid season, and tossing Cave out there day after day isn't accomplishing anything at this point.

[mikelink45]

10 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Wallner has a .202/.326/.342 slash line in AAA. Julien has yet to play a game at that level.

I'm not sure people understand how big of a jump it is from AA to the big leagues. If you aren't one of the 10 best players in AA you're probably not ready for the majors. This feels like all the football posts you see with people begging for the backup QB. Then once they actually see the backup QB in action they're begging for the starter to return.

No - it is desperation as our season sinks.  Years ago Tom Kelly thought it was fine to jump from AA to MLB.  I do too.  Things may have changed, but AAA is a repository for players like Beckham and Cave and others who are just hanging on for one more chance. 

[ashbury]

49 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

AAA is a repository for players like Beckham and Cave and others who are just hanging on for one more chance. 

Not really.  Not mainly.  Here is the list of the top 8 players for plate appearances, this year at St Paul:

Jermaine Palacios
Jake Cave
Mark Contreras
Curtis Terry
Michael Helman
Elliot Soto
Caleb Hamilton
Spencer Steer

Cave and Soto fit your description.  The other six are in their age-27 season or younger, and the Twins are (or were, in a couple of cases) trying to see what if any value they may be capable of giving the big club.  Three have been called up, one was a trade chip.

Players like Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, have seen significant time there too, only their performance was such that they did get called up and stuck (except for injury).

 

[ashbury]

22 hours ago, Andrew Mahlke said:

Edouard Julien destroyed Jack Leiter.

As has pretty much every batter that pitcher's faced this season.