Julien led off Sunday's World Baseball Classic win over Great Britain with a home run, went 1-for-2 and had four walks while batting leadoff for Canada. He was hitting .250 with two home runs and a.919 OPS in six games for the Twins in spring training before leaving for the WBC.
Julien has been an on-base machine in his minor-league career, so the four walks Sunday are no surprise. He slashed .303/.443/.491 with a 24.6 percent strikeout rate, a 19.3 percent walk rate and a strong 32.6 hard-hit percentage at Double-A last season. He then was a star of the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .400 with five home runs and more walks (23) than strikeouts (22) in 21 games. He'll likely begin the season at Triple-A and could be in the majors early in the season should an opening arise.