Minnesota Twins' Top Prospect, Former Top Prospect in Battle For 2B Job

According to a report out of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, top prospect Brooks Lee and former top prospect Edouard Julien are battling for the starting second base job with the Minnesota Twins.

A spot on the team isn’t guaranteed, but the opening that the Twins have at second base could be his for the taking. Edouard Julien is also in the mix there and Willi Castro will see at-bats at second.

But Lee’s focus, instead of a roster battle, is just on getting better every day. And if he does, that will lead him where he wants to be.

Lee was ranked as the No. 18 prospect in all of baseball last season, according to MLB Pipeline. The 24-year-old was a first-round pick back in the 2022 draft.

He made his major league debut last season, hitting .221 over 50 games. He had three homers and 27 RBI. He's a career .290 hitter in the minor leagues.

As for Julien, he was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the organization back in 2023. He's played 203 career games so far, hitting .263 in 2023 and just .199 last season. Armed with solid power, he has 24 career homers.

The Twins are coming off a season that saw them finish fourth in the American League Central and miss the playoffs. A late-season collapse kept them out as the Guardians, Royals and Tigers each finished ahead of them.

The Twins didn't do much this offseason, sitting out free agency for the most part. They did sign former All-Star Ty France to a contract, but they lost Gold Glover Carlos Santana.