Edouard

Julien

Castro has missed the last four games with a knee injury, but he’ll be back in the lineup at second base and hitting fifth on Wednesday. Since a left-hander pitcher is on the mound, Edouard Julien will shift to the bench, as will Troy Johnston and Jake McCarthy, with Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle in the lineup and batting first and second, respectively.

Julien has 13 hits in his last seven games, a stretch that has raised his OPS from .639 to .842. That’s still no mixed-league value here, as Julien is a platoon guy with limited power and steal ability (though he has for some reason tried four this year, succeeding twice). He does seem to be the Rockies’ best option as a leadoff man against righties, though.

Castro, 29, has not been able to play since Thursday because of soreness in his right knee. The veteran infielder will take a seat with Edouard Julien once again starting at second base and hitting leadoff.

Julien doubled and scored the go-ahead run to open the sixth. An interesting thing happened earlier in that at-bat, when Julien challenged a 2-1 cutter off the plate and had it briefly turned into a ball, only for the Mets to appeal down to the third base ump afterwards and have it ruled that he swung at the ball. Julien is hitting .282/.363/.394 in 80 plate appearances as the Rockies’ second baseman against righties. That’s solid, but his defense there remains a problem and he’s not really showing enough to be at attractive option at first base or DH. He’s still a fringy major leaguer at this point.

It appears to be just a routine day off for the versatile 26-year-old. Julien has established himself as the Rockies’ regular leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching in recent weeks, making him a worthwhile addition in deeper mixed leagues. Mickey Moniak will serve as the designated hitter and bat leadoff for the Rockies while Brenton Doyle makes a rare start against a right-hander and will start in center field and bat ninth for the Rockies against Freddy Peralta and the Mets.

Castro has been dealing with a lingering hand issue after being hit by a pitch earlier this week. Edouard Julien takes over at second base to face Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan. It’s possible Castro winds up requiring a trip to the injured list if he’s not ready to go by the end of the weekend.

Julien also drew two walks, and appears to be enjoying his time as a member of the Rockies. It’s his first homer with the club, and the stolen base gives him a pair in 13 games. The 26-year-old looked like he was on his way to being a fantasy stalwart after his rookie campaign, but he’s found very little success since. Maybe a change of scenery will allow him to do just that. Weirder things have happened, if it’s a mistake to count on it.

Filling up that box score. Julien had been seemingly unlucky coming into today; he had a .263 slugging percentage but a .435 xSLG through 20 plate appearances. He’s led off three straight games now, which is a great sign for his NL-only value. He’s not going to play against lefties, but in the Rockies’ first eight games against righties, he rode the pine four times and hit eighth or ninth in his four starts.

It was expected that Freeman would start the season as a short-side platoon with either Jordan Beck or Mickey Moniak. Now, Moniak (finger) is also on the injured list, so there is a chance that Freeman could push Beck for playing time in the outfield or perhaps hit well enough to push Edouard Julien out of the DH spot.

Not too long ago, Julien was a bat-first infield prospect who rose through Minnesota’s minor league system and had a solid MLB debut in 2023, where he finished 7th in AL Rookie of the Year voting. However, his inability to make consistent contact has been tough for him to overcome, and he sports a .232/.336/.382 career slash line in 917 MLB plate appearances. He is also a poor defender at second base and a below-average baserunner, which complicates his overall value. Perhaps moving to Coors Field will help him regain that offensive value. He is out of minor league options, which is part of the reason this trade was made, but also means the Rockies cannot send him to Triple-A.