Well-Rounded Julien Talks Approach, Defense and Unique Path to Pro Ball

In 2019, Edouard Julien was set to go back to Auburn University. He had just helped the team to the College World Series and had two years of eligibility remaining. The Twins took a flyer on him in the 18th round of the draft. When they had some extra draft dollars available, they offered him fourth-round money, and Julien decided to sign. 

Soon after, he left Twins camp with Jordan Balazovic to participate in the Pan-Am Games in Lima, Peru. In a Twins Daily interview last May, he said, “First practice there, we were doing cuts-and-relays. I cut a ball from right field and tried to throw it to home plate. It just flew to the right, and I heard a pop in my elbow. I knew something happened to my arm.”

When he got back to Florida, an MRI showed a tear in his UCL. He quickly had Tommy John surgery and started the rehab process. He may have made his pro debut sometime in the middle of the 2020 season, but as we know, the pandemic caused the cancellation of the minor league season. 

So it wasn’t until 2021 that Edouard Julien was able to make his professional debut. “It was special. I had goosebumps. I was stressed. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I was ready to go and attack and play the best baseball I can.”

Julien has had a chance to look back at that 2021 debut season and realize just how well he played. 

The Quebec native started the season with 47 games in Ft. Myers. He hit .299/.490/.456 (.946) with 12 doubles and three homers. He also stole 21 bases in 23 attempts after stealing just ten bases in two seasons and 127 games. 

He was then promoted to Cedar Rapids, where he played in 65 games and hit .247/.397/.494 (.891) with 16 doubles, 15 home runs, and 13 stolen bases. 

In 112 total games, he led all minor league baseball with 110 walks. 

“It's always been part of my game to have a good eye and to swing at good pitches and not chase out of the strike zone. But I'd say this year I took it to another step. I was more focused on what I wanted, and my approach was more defined. I knew what I wanted to hit and what I didn't want to hit. I knew my strength a little bit more.”

In the Low-A Southeast Division (formerly the Florida State League), they used the electronic strike zone in 2021. There were certainly mixed reviews on it by those involved in those games. Julien didn’t seem to mind it. 

“It was the first time playing with a strike zone that's consistent like that. You know, with the umpires sometimes, they give calls to the pitcher, or they give calls to you. So it's different. And with the automatic strike zone, you get the same thing every day. So I kind of liked it for me.”

Offensively, Julien is filled with potential. He had a strong approach. He knows the strike zone well. He can hit for power, and he uses the whole field. Yes, he will want to strike out less (144 K in 2021), but that’s what this whole player development thing is for, right? 

Defense is where there are some question marks, but he is self-aware and spent the offseason working on it. “I'd say over this offseason, I worked a lot on my defense because I think that's one of my weaknesses here. I try to be a little more consistent defensively. I try to add on to everything. I try to have more power, have more contact, be faster, I try to be a little bit of everything. But like I said, I worked mainly on my defense and my arm."

Between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids in 2021, Julien played 39 games at second base, 23 at third base, 21 at first base, and 18 at left field. 

“I'd say my natural position is second base. I'm starting to learn left field. I think I'm more of a second baseman and left fielder, and I can play some first and third. I can fill in a little bit everywhere, but I'd say I'm more natural at second and in left field.”

Don’t worry, though. Julien is still working on offense, and his approach, something he thinks will be important as he moves up the minor-league ladder. 

“Sometimes, I was getting caught up during the season of being too patient and letting good pitches go. I think that's one of the adjustments I'm trying to make this year to be more aggressive early and challenge, and when I get my pitch, to go for it. Whenever you go up a level, the pitching gets better, and the mistakes, they don't (make as many), and I'm aware of that. And so I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive,”

UNIQUE PATH 

Julien grew up in Quebec City. Not exactly a baseball hotbed. 

He said, “It's hard because in Canada, the biggest sport is hockey, and in the summer, it's soccer now. There's not a lot of baseball players. There's not a lot of people that come back home to watch us play. We only play two months of the year, so it's pretty hard to get visibility.”

But Julien joined the likes of fellow Twins prospects such as Landon Leach and LaRon Smith on the Canadian junior team. They would head to the States regularly for tournaments and other events. That is where he gained his visibility. He was the Phillies 37th round pick in the 2017 draft. 

Instead of signing, he accepted a scholarship to Auburn. He was headed to the SEC. For Julien, it was a significant adjustment on so many levels. 

“It's been a pretty big adjustment. I'd say the biggest one was the different language because back home, I don't speak English. So I got to Alabama. I couldn't speak English, only French. So it was pretty hard at first in my classes. And the food's different. How people act is different. So I had to acclimate to everyone. And it was a big, big change.”

So aside from the ‘normal’ educational opportunities, Julien learned a lot more with the help of his teammates and roommates. “I learned my English from them, and I went to them every day. They taught me everything, like what to eat what not to eat in Alabama. The food was different. I had to acclimate to that because we eat very differently back home. And how you talk, too, because I used what my friends were saying to me. So it's not always the best word to say around coaches. So I had to learn a lot. I learned a lot in Alabama.”

But jumping from Canadian secondary school, even with his time on the junior national team, to the SEC, the best conference in college baseball is a huge undertaking. It was a big adjustment for Julien too. 

“I saw a little bit of pitching and some velocity, but I'd say the biggest step for me when I got to college is that the guys are so much more polished. They throw a lot of offspeed and a lot of offspeed in the zone. They have plans against you. It's not just to go out there and play. They play to win. They try to get you out. I think that was the biggest adjustment I had to make -- to make adjustments against pitchers, to read what they're trying to do with me.”

Like his adjustment to college life in Alabama, Julien made the adjustments on the diamond look easy too. In 62 games played as a freshman, he hit .275/.398/.556 (.954) with seven doubles and 17 home runs. His 69 RBI broke the freshman record previously set by Frank Thomas. 

He came back for his sophomore season in 2019. In 65 games, he hit .259/.388/.453 (.841) with 14 doubles and ten homers. It was a bit of a drop-off, but he (along with fellow Twins prospect Will Holland) led the Auburn Tigers to the College World Series. 

Then pro ball. “And to go pro ball was a different world, too. And everybody's trying to make it to the highest level, and it's fun to be around here and to be part of that.”

When he signed with the Twins, he was one of few that spoke French. By that point, his English was approaching, if not fluent. Spanish? 

“I used to go to a high school where it was Spanish. Since I came here with all of the Latin players, I picked it up pretty quick. I understand a lot of Spanish, and I speak a lot of it. I'm not trilingual, but I'm close to it.”

Well-rounded offensive game. Development of potential defensive versatility. What are you looking for from Eduardo “Eddy” Julien in 2022, and what do you think his future potential can be? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.