Quebec native Édouard Julien is one of the 10 best second basemen in Major League Baseball. At least that's the opinion of MLB Network, which ranked the Minnesota Twins player eighth in a ranking published on Wednesday.
Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers took first place ahead of Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros. Only Marcus Semien (Rangers), Luis Arraez (Marlins), Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks), Matt McLain (Reds) and Andres Gimenez (Guardians) are also ahead of the Quebecer.
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The MLB Network highlighted his impressive debut in Major League Baseball, specifically citing the fact that Julien was “Major League Baseball's No. 1 player who hit no shots outside the zone.”
In his first season in 2023, the Quebecer took part in a total of 109 games, 75 of which were on the second board. Despite this small sample size, he did enough to attract the attention of experts.
Impressive statistics
With 16 home runs along the way, Julien put up impressive stats, including a .381 fielding percentage and a .459 batting average, calculated from the number of bases crossed after his plate appearances. The combination of the two also gives him an excellent “presence plus power” rating of .839.
Julien will return to the Twins in 2024 as the team's training camp opens in February, just before Grapefruit League action begins in Florida.