Shushkewich: Balazovic, Julien impress in their MLB debuts in 2023

ABC and Junior National Team alum Edouard Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2023 and took over as their starting second baseman and leadoff hitter.

October 13, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

This past season, two Canadians made their major league debuts with the Minnesota Twins – infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Jordan Balazovic.

Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) was close to making the team out of spring training but the Twins decided to have him start in triple-A St. Paul. A bat-first type of player, Julien spent nine games in triple-A before he was promoted to the active roster when infielder Kyle Farmer and outfielder Joey Gallo were injured.

His first game was against the Chicago White Sox on April 12 in Minnesota. Batting eighth and facing Lucas Giolito, Julien grounded out to first base in his first at bat. He later walked in the fourth inning and finished the day 0-for-3 before being pinch-hit for late in the game.

For his second contest, against the New York Yankees the following day, Julien was moved to the leadoff spot and he collected his first big league hit, driving an inside 96 MPH fastball from Jhony Brito off the right field wall that left the bat so quickly that he would be held to a single. The Twins got to Brito early and Julien found himself batting for a second time in the second inning, and the lefty-batter got another first out of the way – his first home run. On a 1-1 count, Julien drove a hanging cutter from reliever Colten Brewer to the opposite field, sending the ball 351 feet and giving Minnesota an 8-0 lead.

Julien would be optioned back down to triple-A on April 21 and he spent about a month with St. Paul before returning to the Twins and sticking with the big league club for the rest of the campaign. Through the regular season, Julien finished with a .263 batting average and a .839 OPS while sitting in the 100th percentile in chase rate percentage (14.3) and the 98th percentile in BB% (15.7). Defensively, Julien was on the right side of second base, posted an outs above average of zero (58th percentile), and finished with a .991 fielding percentage and just two errors through 535 innings.

With the Twins making the playoffs, Julien got his first taste of the postseason, suiting in both Wild Card contests and all four games in the ALDS against Houston. He went 1-for-6 against Toronto but fared much better in the division series, going 4-for-11 with two doubles, a home run, and two RBIs while walking four times on his way to a 1.352 OPS before the Twins were eliminated.

Ontario Blue Jays grad Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins this season.

Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) started the year in triple-A with Julien and worked out of the bullpen. In the month of April, Balazovic allowed five hits and two earned runs through 7 2/3 innings to the tune of a 2.35 ERA while striking out 11. He held opponents to a .192 average through those five outings and the organization rewarded him by moving him to the rotation for the start of May.

Balazovic made just three starts before returning to the Saints’ bullpen but the Ontario Blue Jays grad received some good news on June 18 when he was promoted to the big league squad.

His first major league appearance was later that evening against the Detroit Tigers, coming into the game following Louie Varland in the fifth inning with the task of eating up some innings. With runners on first and second with one out, Balazovic allowed a single and a sac fly before getting Eric Haase to ground out to the end the frame, getting out of the jam with just two runs in (charged to Varland).

With his first outing in the books, the right-hander settled in nicely, throwing a clean inning which included his first strikeout, getting Spencer Torkelson looking on an inside changeup. He allowed a single to Kerry Carpenter in the top of the seventh before getting the next three batters out (including a Javier Baez strikeout) and then throwing a clean inning in the eighth, getting Jake Marisnick to ground into a double play after Balazovic walked Miguel Cabrera to start the frame.

Over the next two months, Balazovic was a regular member of the Twins’ bullpen and appeared in 18 games, pitching to a 4.44 ERA through 24 1/3 innings. In total, Balazovic had three outings that saw his ERA rise over the 4.00 mark where he allowed three-plus earned runs but he had 12 appearances where he didn’t allow a single run, striking out 17 batters while working to a 98 ERA+ on the season. Balazovic would be optioned back to triple-A in mid-August and finished the year with the Saints.

Ontario Blue Jays alum Bo Naylor belted 11 home runs in 67 games for the Cleveland Guardians this season.

Honourable Mention

While he technically made his debut in 2022, Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) saw a considerable uptick in playing time with the Cleveland Guardians this season.

After appearing in six games and eight at-bats last season, the Canadian catcher suited up in 67 games this campaign and finished the year with a .237/.339/.470 slash line with 11 home runs and a .809 OPS. Behind the plate, Naylor posted a .992 fielding percentage while throwing out 12.9% of base stealers.