Guardians Slugger Gets Impressive Ranking Among Top Rookies

Cleveland Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel was one of the best rookie in MLB during 2024.

Jun 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfield Jhonkensy Noel (43) reacts after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

From homering during his first at-bat to smoking a game-tying moonshot in the ninth inning of an ALDS game, Jhonkensy Noel had a memorable rookie season with the Cleveland Guardians.

He was precisely what the team needed when they called him up from Triple-A: a power threat in the middle of the lineup.

MLB Network recognized the impact Noel had on the Guardians and ranked him as the 13th-best rookie of the 2024 season.

The top 25 rookies of 2024!

According to MLB Network: 🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YxMx2dSjCH

— MLB (@MLB) January 5, 2025

Noel was ranked higher than some of baseball's more well-known young talent, such as Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays), Jared Jones (Pittsburgh Pirates), James Wood (Washington Nationals), and Michael Busch (Chicago Cubs).

This is a pretty impressive position, considering Noel wasn't considered a high-ranked prospect coming into the season. He was given an opportunity and ran with it.

In 67 games (179 at-bats), Noel hit .218/.288/.486 with an OPS of .774. These numbers include seven doubles, 13 home runs, and 28 RBI.

Now, the question turns to whether Noel can repeat this production, or even build on it, in his first full season with the Guardians.

Oct 17, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Jhonkensy Noel (43) hits a two-run home run during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees in game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

There certainly is still some room for improvement for Noel. His swing-and-miss tendencies were still an issues at times at the major league level. Noel had a strikeout rate of 31.8 percent.

He has to clean some of this up if he wants to be an everyday player.

Noel is in line to receive quite a bit of at-bats right out of the gate. He will likely see most of his playing time in right field, but he could also be Cleveland's designated hitter on some occasions, and he could even see some time at first base as well.

After a successful rookie campaign, the 2025 season is when Noel could really make the jump to being one of the most feared power hitters in baseball.