Guardians’ Jhonkensy Noel Faces A Pivotal Season
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The legend of first baseman Jhonkensy Noel continues to grow.
The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Dominican slugger signed with the Guardians in 2017. Now in his eighth year in the organization, he finally reached the summit of his climb.
The 22-year-old Noel made his MLB debut on June 26, and he made it count by hitting a home run off Orioles righthander Grayson Rodriguez in his first at-bat.
A classic all-or-nothing slugger, Noel has hit as many as 32 home runs in a minor league season. He has also struck out as many as 150 times.
Last year at Triple-A Columbus, he led the Clippers with 27 homers and 85 RBIs. He struck out nearly 25% of the time.
Noel played a lot of third base early in his pro career. These days he is primarily a first baseman and occasional corner outfielder.
Though Noel has been a professional since 2017, he is young for a major leaguer—or even a Triple-A player. This is a pivotal season for him. Noel will get a chance to convince the Guardians that he can succeed first baseman Josh Naylor, who can become a free agent after the 2025 season.
“Noel made a swing adjustment with our hitting department this offseason,” Guardians assistant GM James Harris said, “and he carried those into this season. This has allowed him to significantly reduce his strikeout rate.”
Prior to his callup, Noel had a 21% strikeout rate at Columbus and had hit 18 homers in 65 games.
“This year, Noel is hitting the ball extremely hard with exit velocities over 110 (miles per hour),” Harris said, “while maintaining his ability to make contact versus lefthanded and righthanded pitching.”
