Under-the-Radar Breakout Stars of the World Baseball Classic

We tend not to put much stock in spring training statistics and for good reason. Both hitters and pitchers are still throwing off winter’s rust and searching for their best mechanics. Position players expected to be on an Opening Day roster usually see action in only a few innings before being replaced by minor league guys. Starters are piggy backing one after another in ways they won’t in the regular season (unless they pitch for the Tampa Bay Rays).

Mostly, though, spring training statistics comprise a small sample size. And we know what happens when we try to extrapolate from a small sample size of baseball statistics. Ted Berg’s famous Small Sample Size song starts playing and we’re immediately brought back to reality.

Nevertheless, we’re going to get just a little excited about two guys who played really well in the World Baseball Classic. Why? Because the WBC played much more like regular MLB games. Also, the WBC is over and we have to wait six more days until Opening Day. So let’s talk about some young guys.

Edouard Julien

Edouard Julien is an infielder in the Minnesota Twins organization. The Quebec native played for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. In four games, Julien put up a gaudy slash of .538/.667/1.154 in 18 plate appearances. His 1.821 OPS led all regular hitters in the tournament. Higher than Shohei Ohtani. Higher than Trea Turner. Higher than Mike Trout.

In simple terms, Julien went 7-for-13 with 5 walks. Of his 7 hits, 2 were doubles and 2 were home runs. He stole one base.

The good news for Julien and the Twins is that Julien showed the kind of plate discipline that’s propelled his rise through the Twins’ minor leagues. Over the last two seasons combined, Julien drew more walks than any other player in the minor leagues. That may be the key reason why the Twins added Julien to their 40-man roster over the winter. MLB prospect analysts rank Julien as the No. 4 prospect in the Twins organization.

Earlier this week, the Twins optioned Julien to Triple-A St. Paul, but many Twins observers think Julien will make his MLB debut this season.

Harry Ford

Harry Ford is a top catching prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization. Although Ford was born in Atlanta, both of his parents are British, which qualified him to play for Great Britain in the WBC. It was Great Britain’s first appearance in the worldwide baseball tournament since it first launched in 2006.

With a given name of Harrison Ford, you’d expect some adventurous play from the 20-year-old. He absolutely delivered. In 15 plate appearances, Ford hit 2 home runs, 1 double and drove in 4 runs. His slash wasn’t as impressive as Julien’s, but excellent nonetheless: .308/.400/.846. His Great Britain teammates had some fun after each of Ford’s homers.

Ford is the No. 1 prospect in the Mariners’ farm system, according to MLB prospect analysts, and grades high on all five baseball skills: speed, throwing, fielding, hitting for average, and hitting for power. That’s why the Mariner’s selected Ford with No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft.

Even with expectations so high, Ford is not likely to see playing time in the majors this season. He hasn’t yet played above Single-A ball, and has only had 499 plate appearances at that level.

Last week, I wrote about Yonder Alonso’s excellent work as a color analyst for FS1 on the broadcasts for Pool D play in the WBC. Alonso was paired with longtime Giants play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming and the two made a formidable pair in the booth. Afterward, I lamented on Twitter, that FS1 was using Joe Davis with John Smoltz in the booth for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. As it turned out, Joe Davis wasn’t around for the Friday and Saturday night games and Kenny Albert subbed in. Davis came back on Sunday.

What I didn’t learn until Saturday was that Fox used Flemming and Alonso on the international feed for the quarters, semis, and final game. So if you were watching the English-language broadcast in, say, Canada, Mexico, or Japan, you heard Flemming and Alonso.

Now we can all hear the Flemming-Alonso calls of the best plays of the important WBC games because the highlights MLB posted to MLB.com them, and not Joe Davis and John Smoltz.

I don’t know why MLB chose those highlights. I’m sure it had nothing to do with my little newsletter. But it’s progress, so let’s celebrate it.