Edouard Julien (pronounced ED-ward JOO-lee-en)...X: @edouardjulien7...Instagram: @ edouardjulien...native language is French, after growing up in Québec; had to learn English when he came to the U.S. to play for Auburn University...is also learning Spanish, making him almost trilingual...attended Cardinal Roy Secondary School in Québec City...member of the Canadian Junior National Team...participated in tournaments in Florida and Cuba with Canada U18 National Team during the summer of 2016...won gold with Team Québec at the 18U National Championship in August 2016...hit .318 in the tournament with six RBIs and two extra-base hits...named top 15-year-old player in Québec...named top prospect in Québec as a 16-year-old...hit team-best .417 with four runs scored in Spring Training camp with Canada JNT in March 2016...also saw national team action in the Dominican Summer League...won bronze with Team Québec at the Baseball Canada Cup...played two seasons at Auburn from 2018-19, hitting .266 (118-for-443) with 99 runs scored, 21 doubles, one triple, 27 homers, 126 RBIs and 84 walks in 127 games for the Tigers... teammates with Tigers pitcher and 2018 first overall pick Casey Mize in 2018...in 2019, led the team in home runs (10) and RBI (57) for the second-straight season...his 126 RBIs from 2018-19 seasons were most in the SEC during the span...became first Auburn player with 50-or-more RBI in back-to-back seasons since 2009-10...reached 100 career RBI in his 94th career game, becoming the fifth-fastest Auburn player to reach 100 RBIs behind Tim Hudson (78 games), Gabe Gross (86 games), Frank Thomas (89 games) and Todd Faulkner (90 games)...went 4-for-6 and reached base in six of eight plate appearances at the 2019 College World Series...homered and drove in three runs in the College World Series opener vs. Mississippi State (June 16)...his home run was tied for the longest in the history of TD Ameritrade Park at 429 feet... in 2018, played in 62 games and earned a start in 59 contests at designated hitter, right field and second base...hit .275 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs...his 69 RBI broke Frank Thomas’ freshman program record that had stood since 1987 and were the most in the SEC as well as the most among freshmen nationally...his 17 home runs were tied for second among freshmen nationally and the most by an Auburn player since 2010... named to the SEC All-Freshman Team...earned Second Team ABCA All-South Region Honors...named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings...majored in international business...also spent two seasons with Hyannis in the Cape Cod League, recording 16 RBI in 30 games...in December of 2022, was named The Canadian Baseball Network (CBN) 2022 Randy Echlin Award winner as the top Canadian hitter in the affiliated minor leagues...big fan of Montreal Canadiens hockey...favorite player growing up was Jose Reyes, when he played for the Blue Jays...participated in 2024 TwinsFest at Target Field.
2023
Played for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and hit .538 (7-for-13) with two doubles, two home runs, two RBI, five walks, five runs scored, a .667 on-base percentage, a 1.154 slugging percentage and a 1.821 OPS in four games...led all WBC players in OPS and ranked second in batting average and on-base percentage (min. 10 AB)...Played in first career spring training with Twins and optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on March 14 where he began season...Homered on Opening Day for Saints on March 31 at Toledo...Named Twins Minor League Player of the Week on April 9, hitting .300 (3-for-10) with one home run, two RBI, three walks and a 1.457 OPS for St. Paul...Played in nine games for the Saints from March 31-April 11 before being recalled by Minnesota on April 12 (Joey Gallo - IL)...had three stints with Minnesota on season...Made major league debut on April 12 vs. Chicago-AL, starting at second base and batting eighth...grounded out in first at-bat and walked in second plate appearance...Recorded first Major League hit with a single in the first inning on April 13 at New York-AL, off Jhony Brito...made second plate appearance later that same inning and homered to left field, a solo shot off Colten Brewer...became ninth different player in baseball history (1st Twin) in the expansion era (since 1961) whose first two MLB hits came in the same inning, fourth to include a homer (Elias)...previous eight were Aramis Garcia (2018), Derek Fisher (2017), Adam LaRoche (2004), Wilkin Ruan (2002), Greg Norton (1996), Chad Kreuter (1988), Greg Johnson (1979) and Bill Bonham (1971)...Reached safely four times in seventh career game on April 19 at Boston, going 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch...reached four times two more times on season: July 17 at Seattle (2-for-2 with two walks) and Aug. 6 vs. Arizona (1-for-1 with three walks)...Hit first career leadoff home run on May 24 vs. San Francisco, off Anthony DeSclafani...Drew one walk and hit one double in four-straight games from May 31-June 10, tying Joe Mauer (2013) for longest streak with those numbers in club history (since 1961)...Hit safely in season and career-high nine-straight games from July 8-21, hitting .586 (17-for-29) with three doubles, three home runs, five RBI, five walks, a .647 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.647 OPS in that span (6 multi-hit games)...Finished pre-All-Star break with .852 OPS, seventh-best OPS by Minnesota rookie (1961-present, minimum 125 AB), best since Bobby Kielty in 2002 (.942)...Hit pinch-hit home run on July 3 vs. Kansas City, breaking a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning, helping guide the Twins to an eventual 8-4 victory... first Twins rookie with a pinch-hit homer since Miguel Sanó on Sept. 9, 2015 at Kansas City...Hit .369 (24-for-65) with three doubles, one triple, six home runs, nine RBI, 10 walks, 15 runs scored, a .461 on-base percentage, a .723 slugging percentage and a 1.184 OPS in 22 July games...his 1.184 OPS was the highest in Twins history (since 1961) for a rookie during the month (min. 60 ABs)...ranked first among all AL rookies in July in batting average and on-base percentage, second in slugging and OPS, and third in total bases...Recorded first career four-hit game on August 16 vs. Detroit, hitting all singles and driving in two runs in five at-bats...Recorded career and season highs with three RBI after hitting three-run shot on Aug. 25 vs. Texas, off Grant Anderson...measured at 435 feet, the longest of season/career...Made first career start at first base on Sept. 6 at Cleveland...Hit second career leadoff home run on Sept. 27 vs. Oakland, off Joey Estes...the homer came on the first pitch...it tied four others for most leadoff homers by a rookie in club history (Tim Teufel - 1983, Jacque Jones - 1999, Luis Rivas - 2001 and Danny Santana - 2014)...Hit 452-foot home run on Sept. 30 at Colorado, the longest of season/career...Drew 64 walks on season, leading Twins and tied for fifth most walks in a single season by a Twins rookie...became fourth rookie in Twins history to lead his respective team in walks, joining Tom Brunansky (71 in 1982), Tim Teufel (76 in 1984) and Butch Wynegar (79 in 1976)...His .839 OPS ranked sixth best in Twins history among rookies (minimum 350 plate appearances)...his .381 on-base percentage ranked fourth and his .459 slugging percentage ranked ninth...Hit .274 (80-for-292) with an .898 OPS vs. right-handed pitching and .196 (9-for-46) with a .447 OPS vs. left-handed pitching...Ranked in the 98th percentile in baseball in walk percentage (15.7%); fifth highest mark in baseball, trailing Aaron Judge (19.2%), Juan Soto (18.6%), Kyle Schwarber (17.5%) and Andrew McCutchen (15.9%)...Ranked in the 91st percentile in sweet spot percentage (38.8%) and the 86th percentile in barrel percentage (13.1%)...Ranked fifth among all MLB rookies and third among AL rookies in walks (64)...Ranked second among all MLB rookies in on-base percentage (.381, minimum of 350 plate appearances) and walks-per-strikeout (0.50), fourth in batting WAR (1.7), fifth in wOBA (.369) and runs created-per 27 (6.14), third in OPS+ (132.8), eighth in overall WAR (3.0), ninth in slugging percentage (.459), and 12th in batting average (.263)...Appeared in all six games of Twins Postseason, playing in both games of ALWCS vs. Toronto and all four games of ALDS vs. Houston, hitting .294 (5-for-17) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, five walks, a .455 on-base percentage and a 1.043 OPS...reached in all six games, drawing five walks with five hits in 22 plate appearances...Made Postseason debut on Oct. 3 in ALWCS at Target Field, going 0-for-2 with a walk...Recorded first career Postseason hit in Game 2 of ALWCS vs. Toronto, singling off José Berríos...Hit solo home run in decisive Game 4 of ALDS vs. Houston at Target Field, a shot off Jose Urquidy — the last of the Twins’ two runs in a 3-2 defeat...Named to MLB.com Pipeline’s All-Rookie Second Team... Finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting with two points, earning two third place votes.
2022
Spent entire season with Double-A Wichita...Recorded two multi-homer games on season: June 29 at Springfield (season-high 7 RBI) and July 30 vs. Northwest Arkansas...Named Twins Minor League Player of the Week July 3, hitting .348 (8-for-23) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, five walks, a .464 on-base percentage and a 1.290 OPS for the Wind Surge...Reached base safely in season-long 28-straight games from July 6-Aug. 11, hitting .324 (35-for-108) with a .453 on-base percentage and a 1.036 OPS in that span...streak included a season-long 13-game hitting streak from July 12-30...Drew season-high four walks (6 plate appearances) Aug. 17 vs. Tulsa...Reached safely in 22-straight games to finish the season, from Aug. 27-Sept. 27, hitting .358 (29-for-81) with a .490 on-base percentage in that span...Reached base safely via hit or walk in 108 of 117 games for Wind Surge...reached base multiple times in 44 games...Hit .332 (98-for-295) with a 1.031 OPS vs. right-handed pitching, compared to .210 (22-for-105) with a .649 OPS vs. left-handed pitching...Played 94 games (all starts) at second base for Wind Surge and 18 games (16 starts) at designated hitter...Led Texas League in walks (98) and on-base percentage (.441) and ranked third in OPS (.931), sixth in slugging percentage (.490) and seventh in batting average (.300)…Named second baseman on Minor League Baseball’s Texas League All-Star team...Played 21 games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .400 (28-for-70) with five doubles, five home runs, 17 RBI, six stolen bases, 24 runs scored, a .563 on-base percentage, a .686 slugging percentage and a 1.248 OPS...named league’s Breakout Player of the Year...Added to Twins 40-man roster Nov. 15...Ranked as 15th-best prospect in Twins system by MLB.com after season...Ranked as fourth-best prospect and as having best strike-zone discipline in Twins system by Baseball America, entering 2023...Named second baseman on Twins’ MiLB.com organizational All-Star team...Selected to play for Team Canada in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, marking first career selection.
2021
Split the season between Low-A Fort Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids, hitting .266 (105-for-394) with 93 runs scored, 28 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs, 72 RBI, 110 walks, 34 stolen bases and a .914 OPS in 112 games...named second baseman on Twins MiLB.com organizational All-Star team.
2020
Did not play after the minor league season cancelled due to COVID-19
2019
Missed the season with a right ulnar collateral ligament injury.