Edouard

Julien

That’s the case even though all three games have been against right-handers. Julien had a solid spring, hitting .281/.349/.456, but the Twins seem to be prioritizing defense in using Willi Castro at second base and Harrison Bader in left field. Julien at second and Castro in left seems like a better alignment against righties.

Lee dealt with a back issue during the late stages of camp and will open the regular season on the shelf. His absence allows Edouard Julien to open the year at second base with Willi Castro taking over at the hot corner. Back issues can be complicated matters, but fantasy managers should anticipate seeing Brooks return at some point in April.

It seems like only a couple of weeks ago we were wondering how the Twins would find at-bats for Julien and Jose Miranda. Now they’ll get all of the playing time they can handle with Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee on the IL. Julien still should take a seat versus lefties, but he’ll be at second base or DH the rest of the time.

Lee was scratched with back tightness earlier this week. The 24-year-old infielder seemingly had an opening to begin the season as the everyday third baseman with Royce Lewis down with a hamstring injury. Now Lee will start the year on the 10-day injured list leaving Jose Miranda, Edouard Julien and Austin Martin as the Twins’ options at the hot corner.

Julien’s RBI double in the third was hit 408 feet and would have been a homer in 15 major league ballparks, Statcast says. Actually, three of his four balls in play today were hit at least 101 mph. Julien has a much clearer path to playing time in Minnesota with Royce Lewis on the IL initially. He’s not a mixed-league option at the moment, but he might be one if he can establish himself as a regular.

Edouard Julien also had a nice game, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI. Brooks Lee wound up 1-for-4. It remains to be seen if the Twins are going to find time for all three of their former top prospects on the roster while being committed to playing Ty France at first and giving Harrison Bader a lot of time in left. Miranda remains a wild card, since, unlike Julien and Lee, he’s not an option at second. Miranda has played plenty of third this spring, but the Twins haven’t given Royce Lewis any time at second, which suggests that arrangement isn’t on the table. Miranda, who is batting .321/.382/.464 this spring, will probably be a backup initially, but that could change in an instant if Lewis, Byron Buxton or someone else gets hurt.

It’s important to note that Hayes also points out that Castro playing primarily second base is in the best-case scenario for the Twins. His versatility allows him to play anywhere on the diamond, so the Twins expect that they will use Castro to fill in for any injured position player. However, if the team is fully healthy, then Castro will get the majority of his at-bats at second base. That could be bad news for Brooks Lee and Edouard Julien, who are fighting to earn at-bats at second base as well. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has also said, “As we sit here right now, we don’t have one player that I’m going to say, yeah, the guy is going to get 600 plate appearances over at second base.” That makes it hard to rely on any of the players in that competition other than Castro.

That’s the Julien we were hoping to see a year ago, but his typically awesome walk rate dropped and his strikeout rate increased in a bust of a sophomore campaign for the Twins. He’s back competing for the job at second base now, but that he’s a weaker defender than Brooks Lee or Willi Castro hurts his case. It’s still possible he’ll show a strong enough bat to justify a starting job at first base, but that spot appears to be Ty France’s for the moment.

The Twins have room to carry all three of Julien, Jose Miranda and Brooks Lee, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to do so, at least as long as they’re maintaining the stance that Ty France is their starting first baseman. Given that there’d only be room for one in the lineup most days, they could send one down to play regularly and maybe carry DeShawn Keirsey Jr. as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement or Mickey Gasper as a third catcher/pinch-hitter. We’ll just have to wait and see. Lee is probably going to wind up as the primary second baseman if he hits this spring. Julien is an option there, too, but he’s a weaker defender than Lee.

Gleeman notes that the Twins would love it if Lee won the starting second base job, but he hit just .221/.265/.320 in 50 games with the Twins, including .182 after a strong first week. Lee has elite contact skills but needs to show that he can make more authoritative contact. Willi Castro and Edouard Julien would get most of the time at second base if Lee was sent down.