FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The plan that Edouard Julien has tried to execute at the plate while rising up the Twins’ farm system is simple, he says: Try to be aggressive and do damage on the first three pitches -- and if the at-bat goes beyond that, just trust his eyes and on-base ability.
That’s how he’s made a big impression on the organization, and he showed off what he could bring to the Twins at some point this season with a pair of homers in the Twins’ 10-7 victory over the Braves on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium.
Both, of course, came within the first three pitches.
“He’s been better than a good hitter,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s been a guy that has already made a name for himself. He needs to continue that, but he swings the bat at a level probably better than most guys you’re going to find, even prospects.”
Part of the reason why the Twins could stomach the offseason trade that sent Luis Arraez to the Marlins in exchange for Pablo López was that they had Julien in the higher levels of the Minors. Julien also profiles as a strong on-base hitter -- he has posted a .437 career on-base percentage -- due to his extreme penchant for walks.
And while Julien leads all Minor League hitters with 208 walks across the last two seasons, he also brings power and speed, with 35 homers and 53 stolen bases as a professional.
The way he sees it, Julien understands pitchers know of his reputation as a walks machine, so they’re going to want to get ahead of him early in counts by throwing him pitches in the zone, often fastballs. He wants to be in a position to do damage to those pitches, and he often does so.
In the first inning on Tuesday, Julien got a 1-0 fastball from Braves right-hander Ian Anderson and crushed it an estimated 411 feet. Two innings later, he got another 1-0 fastball from Kyle Wilcox and crushed that one, too.
Julien is not worried about pitchers adjusting away from fastballs early in counts, either.
“If they don’t throw fastballs, that means they’re worried you’re going to do damage against it – and that’s the goal,” Julien said. “I want them to pitch from behind and maybe they’re going to throw balls, and I’m going to be in hitter’s counts. That’s my goal. Be able to do damage on the fastball and go from there.”
Mahle’s velocity carries into game action
As far as Tyler Mahle is concerned, he’s not even thinking about his fastball velocity anymore, with any concerns about his shoulder fatigue from last season already behind him.
The on-field results backed up those sentiments on Tuesday, as he averaged 94.1 mph with his heater in his Spring Training debut, pitching around a pair of hits in a scoreless 19-pitch inning. That’s particularly encouraging considering he averaged only 91.8 mph with the fastball in his brief look with the Twins last season following his arrival from the Reds at the Trade Deadline.
“I kind of knew [the velocity] would be there just from bullpens and live BP and stuff and how I’m feeling,” Mahle said. “So yeah, it’s good.”
Instead, Mahle's focus is on continuing to refine the new slider he has brought into camp following an offseason of work at Driveline, which marked the first time he sought outside professional to help settle on a good breaking ball. He still thought he was overthrowing the slider a bit on Tuesday, but there’s plenty of time to rein it in.
“Once you get in the game, especially now, everything is way faster,” Mahle said. “So you just get in, you want to throw the pitch. When you have full conviction with the pitch, it’s not like you’re trying to baby it or anything. It’s going to be tough to back off that slider a little bit.”
Worth noting
• Trevor Larnach was originally scheduled to start and play left field on Tuesday, but he was a late scratch due to unspecified soreness in his lower half, Baldelli said. The Twins will give Larnach a few days to recover.
• Jose Miranda has only appeared at designated hitter thus far in Grapefruit League play due to some shoulder soreness that became apparent during infield drills and catch play, Baldelli added. Miranda is still clear to hit, and the Twins will continue to evaluate him as the week goes on.