This Guardians Outfielder Could Be The Difference Maker in ALDS Game 5

The Cleveland Guardians could use a big day from this outfielder to help punch their ticket to the ALCS

Aug 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel (43) celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

It’s an understatement to say that several players in the Cleveland Guardians lineup have struggled in their ALDS matchup against the Detroit Tigers. Heading into a decisive Game 5, outfielder Jhonkensy Noel could be the guy who changes everything.

Despite putting together some good at-bats, Noel hasn’t found much success at the plate in this series. He’s hitless in nine at-bats, striking out four times. 

The right-handed hitter could put all that behind him with an impressive showing in the final game of the series. 

Despite being so dominant this season, Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal has given up his fair share of home runs this season. If Noel is capable of anything, it’s driving the ball out of the park. 

Noel was on a tear early in his big league career, hitting 13 home runs from his debut on June 26th through the end of August. Unfortunately, the home runs slowed, as the twenty-three-year-old has gone 64 at-bats without putting one over the wall.

While that may not seem like a recipe for success, Noel has a couple of things going for him against Skubal.

The triple-crown pitcher tends to pound the strike zone. Skubal throws the ball in the strike zone on 55.4 percent of his pitches. That’s a whopping seven percent higher than the league average. Skubal also throws a first-pitch strike 68.7 percent of the time, 34.4 percent of those pitches being fastballs.

Skubal will attack the zone, and he’s likely to do it early with the fastball. That’s good news for Noel. He has six home runs off the heater this year. If he can bank on that pitch being in the zone early in the count, fireworks could fly. 

As long as Skubal decides to stay in the zone, it could help Noel stay out of the strikeout column. He tends to chase breaking pitches out of the zone, whiffing 42.9 percent of the time.

With how difficult it can be to score runs on Tarik Skubal, look to Noel for a potential spark in the lineup. He could be the reason the Guardians are booking flights to New York next week.