September 29, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

One of the most exciting young Canadian players in Major League Baseball can be found a six-hour drive from Thunder Bay, Ont.

Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) broke ground in the big leagues early in the 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins and has blossomed into an American League Rookie of the Year candidate. In 106 games, he has belted 15 home runs and owns a team-leading .380 on-base percentage (OBP).

None of this surprises Jack Powell, the Twins scout who signed Julien and remembers the young infielder even before his collegiate career began at Auburn.

“I remember first seeing Edouard when the Junior National Team came through for some games down south and he really stood out,” Powell said.

The veteran scout got an even better look at Julien when the Canadian infielder was starring at Auburn University.

“Every time he stepped into the batter’s box [at Auburn], he always had a plan; whether it was during batting practice or his third at-bat in the game, Edouard was always trying to execute his plan,” said Powell.

“As he continued to play at Auburn, he just kept getting better at the plate, laying off borderline pitches and taking advantage of mistakes or waiting for his pitch – his all-around aptitude of continuously trying to get better really stood out. As a freshman, he could drive the ball well and continued to refine his approach at the plate over those two years.”

Powell’s scouting report helped convince the Twins to select Julien in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB draft.

Thanks to the pandemic, Julien didn’t begin his climb through the Twins’ farm system until 2021. After a strong season with the double-A Wichita Wind Surge in 2022 that saw him bat .300 and post a .441 OBP in 113 games, he began this season with triple-A St. Paul but quickly found himself in the promotion conversation.

He only needed nine games in St. Paul to convince the Twins he was ready for the next step. The lefty-batter had a quick cup of coffee with the Twins in April, notching six hits through 27 at-bats with two home runs before being sent back to triple-A.

The Quebec product rode the options bus until mid-June when Jorge Polanco went on the IL. By this time Julien had been consistently finding ways to put the ball in play and getting on base in triple-A, authoring a .293 average with a .932 OPS through 38 games.

Since that mid-June call-up, Julien has become a key cog on the Twins’ roster. He currently leads the team in appearances at second base (73) and boasts a .832 OPS. As a rookie, Julien owns a 2.3 bWAR while sitting in the 100th percentile in Chase% (14.5%) and the 98th percentile in BB% (15.9%), with his 62 walks ranking third amongst all AL rookies.

The 24-year-old has amassed a .262/.380/.452 slash line while adding 15 home runs, which currently slots in sixth all-time for Canadian-born players during their rookie campaign (led by Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) and his 26 knocks).

On the field, Julien has spent most of his time at second base but also has a few stints at first base and in the DH spot under his belt as well, owning a .990 fielding percentage with just two errors on the season at his primary position.

“In his second year at Auburn, they had him playing third base and he even worked with Josh Donaldson for a bit at the hot corner but second base is really where he stood out and we were really comfortable believing that he could stay on the infield for the long run,” said Powell.

As the season winds down and with the Twins already locking down the AL Central title, Julien will get his first taste of playoff baseball next week when the club faces whichever team finishes in the third AL Wild Card spot.

Julien is no stranger to pressure though, as he was Team Canada’s starting second baseman in the World Baseball Classic this spring. He impressed in the tournament, going 7-for-13 (.538) at the plate with two home runs, including a leadoff homer against Great Britain in their first contest.

Regardless of who the Twins face, if the 2022 Randy Echlin Award winner, as the Canadian Baseball Network’s Minor League Hitter of the Year, continues to produce at the plate and drive the ball over the outfield wall, he will likely be in the big leagues for the foreseeable future with the potential to anchor the right side of second base for years in the Twin Cities.