One out, top nine, man on first, Jhoan Duran on the bump, ground ball to second. Spin it, roll it out, double play, ballgame, right?
Wrong.
Edouard Julien took the ground ball and fired it to Willi Castro in left, putting the Cardinals in business for what would be the go ahead single and an eventual loss of the Twins.
Some bad defense by Eddy Julien these last few days. Might lead to two losses based on his mistakes.
— Puckett's Pond (@PuckettsPond) August 28, 2024
That play a week ago has been more or less a microcosm of Julien’s season to this point. The 25-year old has been mired in a disappointing sophomore slump, and he’s almost out of time to turn it around this season.
It’s been a rough go for Julien, who has found himself shuttling back and forth from Triple-A and the bigs a couple times in 2024. He’s hitting just .216 with seven homers and a .668 OPS this season. Although never a strength, his defense at second remains below average, putting almost all the pressure on an underperforming bat.
It’s disappointing to see a guy with such a solid hitter with a safe profile fall off like this in year two for Twins fans who have been riding the emotional roller coaster all year.
Edouard Julien can have a bounce back 2025
While it looks bad now, there’s still hope for the future. 2024 may be a wash which is unfortunate considering the Twins are in the thick of a playoff race. The silver lining for the team is that, when healthy, they have infield depth outside of Julien with the likes of Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Willi Castro, Brooks Lee, and Kyle Farmer.
Julien still has his rookie campaign to fall back on, where he was one of the better rookies in all of baseball. Eddie hit .263 with 16 home runs and an .839 OPS. Most impressive was his .381 on base percentage, a calling card of his game that seems to translate on a year-to-year basis.
Oh GET OUT!
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) April 19, 2023
Edouard Julien goes waaaay deep out to right off Corey Kluber and it’s 3-0 Twinkies! pic.twitter.com/JQtQ8F88dm
Julien has an elite eye at the plate, something he hasn’t lost in 2025. For the second year in a row he’s been amongst the league leaders in chase and a walk rate. Fortunate proof that a good eye doesn’t slump, and a good eye can keep a guy in the lineup for a while (Yankee fans will remember Aaron Hicks, and the chase rate leaderboard is filled with guys like Lars Nootbaar and J.P. Crawford).
Ultimately, it’s not all doom and gloom for Julien. This season has been a total disappointment, but a good offseason and a continued level of plate discipline and on base percentage can return Julien to his rookie year form and a player worth building around for the Twins.