December 16, 2022

By Matt Betts

Canadian Baseball Network

Minnesota Twins infield prospect Edouard Julien trusted his process.

The Quebec City native trusted it right from Game 1 of the 2022 campaign with the double-A Wichita Wind Surge, a game in which he recorded a hit in a 5-4 loss to the Tulsa Drillers on April 8, right up until he completed his season in the Arizona Fall League last month.

That trust, and his performance, have earned him the 2022 Randy Echlin Award as the Canadian Baseball Network’s Offensive Player of the Year in the affiliated minor league ranks.

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Julien edged out Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) who spent time at triple-A Columbus, double-A Akron and as an October call-up to the Cleveland Guardians. We had 11 voters and both had five first-place votes.

Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC), a Blue Jays farmhand, who enjoyed a strong season at class-A Vancouver and class-A Dunedin, was third with 10 points, while Tristian Peters, (Winkler, Man.), who had the other first-place vote, had nine points playing at double-A Richmond and class-A Wisconsin.

The sweet swinging Julien spent his entire 2022 season in Wichita, hitting an even .300 with 17 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .931 OPS in 113 games and 508 plate appearances.

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In 21 games with the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, he put together a .400 batting average, swatted five homes runs and drove in 17.

His effort earned him the Arizona Fall League Breakout Player of the Year, given to the player who “took the Fall League opportunity and propelled himself into serious prospect status.”

A serious prospect he is. He’s currently the Twins No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is expected to compete for Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

Julien credits starting the year in double-A and staying there the entire season as being critical to his success.

“This year I think I came prepared and I trusted the process,” Julien said. “I started in double-A right away and to stay in one spot made it easier on me. It was a great year. As the season started, I was doing well and it made me believe in myself.”

As the season wore on, and he continued to hit, his confidence only grew. He proved to himself and those around him that he belonged.

“This season taught me that I’m really capable of being a good player,” he said. “Not only a good player, but one of the best players in that league. I worked on my swing and my defence all year and I kept progressing.”

He credits his coaches and teammates for helping him develop and stay consistent.

What’s even more impressive was that it was only Julien’s second full minor league season after being selected in the 18th round, 539th overall, by the Twins in the 2019 draft out of Auburn University.

Happy with his play in Wichita, the next challenge was the Arizona Fall League. It was an opportunity he took full advantage of.

“The AFL was a great experience,” he said. “I was able to play against the best prospects in each organization. To compare myself to them and show every team that I’m capable of playing at that level really helped elevate my game.”

Upon learning that he had won the Echlin Award, he couldn’t help but think of all the great Canadian players who have, and continue to make a name for themselves in the game.

“I feel very fortunate to win this award,” Julien said. “There’s a lot of great players from Canada and every year more players are making it to the big leagues. They’re not only making it to the big leagues, they’re performing in the big leagues. I’m happy to have had the year that I had and gain the recognition from people around baseball.”

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When did Julien put up enough impressive numbers to win the Echlin award?

It may have been the night at Hammonds Field in Springfield. That night Julien homered twice -- the first and third innings -- and doubled in a 4-for-5 game as he drove in seven runs in a 10-1 victory against the Springfield Cardinals in June.

Or it could have been at Riverfront Stadium in Wichita. He homered twice -- in the first and fourth -- driving in four runs in an 11-3 win against the Northwest Arkansas Wonder Boys in July.

Or it may have been at Riverfront Stadium in Wichita again the following month. That night Julien homered in the first inning going 4-for-4 with four RBIs in a 7-6 Wichita win over the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Julien started the season slowly hitting .220 with one homer, five RBIs and a .719 OPS in April.

He followed that up with his most productive month: hitting .333 with five homers, 15 RBIs and a .926 OPS for May.

Next on Julien’s calender came June where he batted .300 with six homers, 18 RBIs and a .973 OPS.

In July, Julien batted .287, hitting five homers, knocking in 17 runs and a .950 OPS.

In August, he hit .290 with four homers, 13 RBIs and an .899 OPS.

And he closed out the season hitting .377 with one homer, nine RBIs and a 1.016 OPS.

Where did Julien rank among other Canadians in the minors? Well he ...

_ Shared the lead in runs scored with Peters.

_ Was second in hits, nine behind Peters.

_ Had the third highest batting average, 27 points behind Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), who was at class-A Hickory, class-A Down East and rookie-class Arizona Complex League Rangers and two points behind Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) triple-A Jacksonville

_ Was deadlocked for third in home runs with Jared Young (Prince George, BC), triple-A Iowa. And he was seven back of leader Palmegiani and four behind Naylor.

_ Was fourth in RBIs, one behind Naylor and Peters, 16 behind Palmegiani.

_ Was fourth in total bases -- four behind Palmegiani and Peters -- and 10 behind Naylor, the leader.

_ Was fifth in games played with 113, 11 behind Peters,

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Julien describes himself as a hitter who’s mature at the plate that can hit for both power and average - something that was evident this season. He’s focused on his defence and is a more than capable infielder, but admits his game centers around his offensive ability and production.

The next stop for Julien will be major league spring training in the new year. From there, he doesn’t know where he’ll land, but he does know how he’ll approach it.

“My goal is to go out there and have fun and become a better player,” he said. “I can’t control if I’m going to get called up but I can control being a good teammate, having fun and getting better. Hopefully the best happens.”

And there’s no doubt he’ll keep trusting his process.

Previous Winners

Offensive Player Of The Year (Affiliated Minor Leagues)

(Starting in 2011 the award was named after the The Honourable Mr. Justice Randall Echlin, former head of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame selection committee and a man with a baseball-shaped heart the size of a box of new Rawlings.)

2008 _ Tim Smith (Toronto, Ont.) Rangers.

2009 _ Tyson Gillies (Langley, BC) Mariners.

2010 _ Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Brewers.

2011 _ Taylor Green (Comox, BC) Brewers and Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Jays.

2012 _ Oscar Taveras (Montreal, Que.) Cardinals.

2013 _ Sean Jamieson (Simcoe, Ont.) Diamondbacks.

2014 _ Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Blue Jays.

2015 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2016 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2017 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners/Cardinals and Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

2018 _ Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

2019 _ Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) Astros.

2020 _ Minor league seasons cancelled, COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 _ Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

(Bold face indicates major league service time.)