Julien focused on fielding: 'The goal is to win a Gold Glove'

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has taken a real shine to second baseman Edouard Julien. Baldelli has loved watching a player who made it to the Majors for his bat become so good at fielding that he now aspires to win a Gold Glove.

“It’s something you always want to strive for,” Julien said after a 9-4 loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at TD Ballpark. “I don’t want to be an average player. I want to be the best at my position, and I’ve put in so much work and taken so much pride in it that it’s been my main focus every day.

“The goal is to win a Gold Glove, and take small steps toward that every day.”

That mentality was on display when Julien fielded a grounder by Justin Turner in the first inning and made a quick flick toss to shortstop Brooks Lee, who fired a relay throw to first for an inning-ending double play.

“He was not originally an exceptional second baseman,” said Baldelli. “But he’s worked himself into being a guy that can play Major League second base, and that’s taken a lot of work on his end. And he continues to put in that work to this day.”

Infield and assistant bench coach Tony Diaz has spent long hours with Julien.

“His work ethic is second to none,” said Diaz. “We had to refine his routine and I’m blown away. He has that drive and discipline, and the biggest question is how much better he’s going to get. I can’t put any limits on a player like that. The sky’s the limit. When a player is that driven and wants to be great, I wouldn’t put winning a Gold Glove past him.”

Diaz offered examples of two players not known for their defense who developed into Gold Glove winners: Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong in 2019 and '20 (his seventh and eighth seasons in the Majors) and Pirates left fielder Corey Dickerson in '18 (his sixth MLB season).

Baldelli noted: “Eddy’s done a really tremendous job of establishing himself at the Major League level. He did it very quickly, and he did it in all the right ways.”

Julien batted .263 with 64 walks to boast a .381 on-base percentage that was second among all MLB rookies in 2023. He also had a solid .839 OPS and scored 60 runs in 338 at-bats, finishing seventh in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Then, Julien hit .294 with a .455 on-base percentage and 1.043 OPS in 17 postseason at-bats.

“He has good at-bats all the time,” said Baldelli. “I mean, he swings at really good pitches and he has a real good idea of the strike zone. He gets to pitches up in the zone. Balls that are moving in ways that a lot of guys struggle with, he finds ways to get the barrel to a lot of pitches.”

Julien was drafted by Minnesota in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Auburn as a third baseman who also played second. He drove in 126 runs in two seasons with the Tigers, leading the SEC during that span, and broke Frank Thomas’ school record for freshmen with 69 RBIs.

Most hitters with exceptional opposite-field power are big men such as Thomas and Miguel Cabrera, but Julien has hit some long shots the other way despite being just 6-foot, 195 pounds.

“I don’t know where it comes from,” said Baldelli. “I could make something up, but sometimes things just appear and you don’t know where they come from, and he just has that unique ability to create torque in just the right way.”

Julien, a left-handed hitter, belted three of 16 homers to left field last year. He pulled six of them and seven were driven up the middle. So, he uses the whole field quite well.

“Not many guys in the big leagues that are his size have his general strength or a build that can do that,” said Baldelli. “Brandon Lowe [of the Rays] can do that. [Julien] stands out as a guy that can deliver a real charge into the ball the other way, but there really are not very many [smaller players] anywhere.”

Julien explained his ability to use the whole field to hit for power.

“I would say it’s seeing the ball get deep,” said Julien. “And then I let the ball travel a lot in the strike zone so it just happens that I catch it deep, and it goes that way. My approach is to go to the opposite field so I can stay on most of the pitches, and I think that’s where I get my power, just by letting the ball get deeper.”

Julien is expected to lead off against right-handed starters after hitting all of his homers and batting .274 against them in 2023. However, he’s also likely to platoon, because he batted .196 in 46 at-bats against lefties.

“The biggest thing for me in the offseason was to be better against lefties,” said Julien. “I told the coaches I wanted to be better and have a chance to play against lefties. They gave me a couple of opportunities, and I’ve been seeing the ball way better against lefties. It’s been much better.”

On Sunday against Toronto, Julien went 0-for-2 with one walk and one run scored, but he is batting .345 with two homers and six RBIs along with a .472 on-base percentage and a 1.058 OPS this spring.