What To Expect From Jhonkensy Noel, Guardians Opinion
The Cleveland Guardians made another roster move on Wednesday afternoon ahead of their series finale with the Baltimore Orioles. Jhonkensy Noel, Cleveland’s 26th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline) was called up to make his MLB debut as Johnathan Rodriguez was optioned back to Triple-A.
Noel can bring a lot to this lineup on both offense and defense.
But what exactly can fans expect from the latest Guardians prospect to be called up?
Let’s start with the plate production.
If Noel is swinging a hot bat, look out because he can be one of the most dangerous hitters in a lineup. Noel is hitting .295/.359/.578 with an OPS of .937 in his 65 games in the minors this season. He especially showed his power potential over the year hitting 18 home runs and driving 59 RBI.
Huge night for #Guardians (INF/OF) prospect Jhonkensy Noel who drives in his 4th run of the evening for Columbus on an RBI double in the 10th inning to make it a 6-to-4 game over Iowa! The double was his 3rd hit of the night and had an exit velocity of 118.4 mph off the bat! 🤯… pic.twitter.com/vxU4gxGBqo
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) May 8, 2024
The strikeout rate has always been a concern with Noel. In 2022 he struck out in 38.9 percent of his plate appearance and in 2023 the number was 24.8 percent. However, Noel has really gotten a handle on the swings and misses this season striking out 21.1 percent of the time.
It wouldn’t be surprising for the power-hitter to take some time to adjust, and with that, see the strikeout percentage rise in his first week or so in the majors. But Noel certainly has shown the ability to overcome this and his plate discipline has really improved this season so it shouldn’t be something to be alarmed about.
What about defense?
Stephen Vogt definitely loves his versatile players such as David Fry, Daniel Schneemann, and Gabriel Arias. Lucky for him, Noel also falls into the category of “player who can play just about everywhere.”
Noel will be making his big league debut at first base on Wednesday night, but he also has minor league experience playing third base, left field, and right field. This isn’t to say that Noel will play all of those positions with the Guardians, but the ability is there if Vogt needs him to.
Noel has been waiting a long time for this opportunity. He was signed by Cleveland as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and now Noel is getting to live out his life-long dream.
TOMMY WILD