Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel Homers In First Career MLB At-Bat
The Cleveland Guardians promoted highly-regarded prospect Jhonkensy Noel on Wednesday, and the first baseman got his MLB career off to a bang with a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez in his first at-bat.
First big league at-bat, first big league homer for Jhonkensy Noel!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2024
The @CleGuardians' No. 26 prospect clobbers a 413-ft roundtripper. pic.twitter.com/DnzpYqV6Rh
The Guardians called up Noel with the hope that he would provide some extra pop in their surging lineup, and he certainly did not disappoint in his first trip to the plate.
Noel originally signed with Cleveland as an international free agent back in 2017. He made his minor-league debut in the Dominican Summer League the following year, hitting 10 home runs over 260 plate appearances.
The slugger didn't truly begin to break out, however, until 2021, when he slashed .340/.390/.615 with 19 homers and 65 RBI between the Rookie League and Single-A ball.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for Noel the next couple of years, though.
While Noel continued to flash elite power in 2022, smashing 32 long balls, he was a bit underwhelming as a hitter overall, recording a .799 OPS. It was more of the same in 2023, as Noel racked up 27 dingers but slashed a pedestrian .220/.303/.420 at Triple-A Columbus.
Noel finally got back on track this season and was slashing .295/.359/.578 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI across 284 trips to the dish at Triple-A before being promoted.
The Guardians entered Wednesday night's action looking for the three-game sweep of the Orioles. They are riding a seven-game winning streak and currently own the American League's best record at 51-26.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT