Julien (ankle) went 1-for-4 with a home run Friday for Triple-A St. Paul.
Julien hurt his ankle late in spring training but it doesn't seem to be an issue to begin the regular season. Julien begins the minor-league season where he left off in the spring, as he homered in his first game for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and also hit three home runs in big-league spring training with a 1.114 OPS. A strong start at Triple-A could see him called up earlier rather than later this season, especially if Jorge Polanco's knee injury becomes a long-term issue.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Leaves game with ankle injury
Rotowire
Julien departed Monday's Grapefruit League contest against the Pirates with a left ankle sprain, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Julien sustained the injury while avoiding the first baseman as he ran through the bag. The Twins are calling him day-to-day. Julien was already sent to minor-league camp earlier this month but could become an option at second base before long if Jorge Polanco's knee issue continues to linger. He'll have to get healthy himself first, of course.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Sent down to Triple-A
Rotowire
Julien was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul by the Twins on Tuesday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Julien had a nice showing this spring, putting up a .919 OPS with two home runs in six games. The 23-year-old on-base machine was added to the Twins' 40-man roster over the offseason after posting a .300/.441/.490 line with 17 homers and 19 steals at Double-A Wichita in 2022. He will see his first Triple-A action in 2023 and could push to debut at some point later in the year.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Leadoff HR for team Canada
Rotowire
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.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Jumps to 40-man roster
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Julien was added to Minnesota's 40-man roster Tuesday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Julien spent the 2022 campaign with Double-A Wichita and cemented his status as one of Minnesota's top prospects with a .303/.443/.491 slash line, 17 home runs and 19 steals in 114 games. The 23-year-old posted an incredible 19.7 percent walk rate and should move to Triple-A St. Paul this coming year, and he could also sniff the majors.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Breaks out in 2022
Rotowire
Julien wrapped up the 2022 season with a .300/.441/.490 slash line, 17 homers, 19 steals and a 98:125 BB:K across 113 contests, all for Double-A Wichita.
He's gone on to play 10 games in the Arizona Fall League thus far, slashing .363/.544/.636 with a pair of homers, a steal and a 13:10 BB:K. All in all, this has been a spectacular breakout year for Julien, who flew under the radar in 2021 as an over-aged prospect in Single-A and High-A despite putting up a .914 OPS with 18 homers and 34 swipes. Few are sleeping on the 23-year-old now, after he posted one of the most remarkable walk rates you'll ever see from a prospect (19.3 percent) alongside his power and speed contributions. If Julien keeps doing his thing in Triple-A in 2023, it's hard to see how he doesn't find his way to the big leagues by midseason.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Showing advanced skills in Double-A
Rotowire
Julien is batting .292/.436/.494 with 12 homers, 12 steals and a 66:81 BB:K through 74 games for Double-A Wichita.
While Julien is still striking out a fair amount, he's balanced that out with a walk rate north of 20 percent, which has helped him put up some of the best OBP numbers in the minors across the last two seasons. Julien has also found his power stroke recently, smashing five homers in his last 10 games -- a stretch in which he's also hit .324 with a 10:7 BB:K. It's also noteworthy that the 23-year-old Canadian has spent almost the entire 2022 season at second base; last year, he made appearances at first, second, third and left field, but it seems the Twins are no longer grooming him as a jack of all trades. Of course, that also means that he's blocked by Jorge Polanco for the time being.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: On IL at Double-A
Rotowire
Julien is on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Wichita with an undisclosed injury.
He was hitting .274 with 23 walks and 21 strikeouts in 23 games, good for a .439 OBP. Julien's patience at the plate is very obvious, but the 23-year-old needs to get to more power in games, as he only had one home run on the season prior to the injury.
