Jhonkensy Noel continues to blast home runs for the Cleveland Guardians

As the 2024 season continues to pass on, game by game, the Cleveland Guardians are finding new bats to get the job done.

On Tuesday Night, Guardians power prospect Jhonkensy Noel continued his reign of terror at the plate as he belted a solo shot onto the Home Run Porch at Progressive Field. It was just Noel's 46th at-bat at the major league level, bringing his slashing line to .256/.313/.651 on the campaign. During that outing against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, he also rocketed his second double of the season.

"Jhonkensy [Noel has] been working extremely hard to stay ready. … We're coming up on stretch right now where we're going to see some left-handed pitching," said Cleveland Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt. "So he's going to get his playing time. He's got a great attitude."

Back on June 26, the Guardians called up Noel from Triple-A Columbus Clippers. In his first career at-bat, Noel blasted a home run 413-foot ball against the Baltimore Orioles. Since then, he has gotten sporadic starts within the major league lineup, but his involvement has certainly been limited.

Over the course of 18 games, he has knocked 11 hits, two doubles, and five home runs to contribute to eight RBIs. Yes those numbers are good, but it cannot be overlooked that Noel has struggled in his strikeout rate, which has seen a mark of 18 strikeouts to three walks. When in the field, the team has utilized him at first base twice, left field once, and in right field 12 times. However, he has still yet to see time as a designated hitter. There, he may be able to provide even more consistent hitting numbers with the added time to rest in between half innings.

The biggest concern for Noel at the moment is his long-term role. While Noel has experience at first and in the outfield, he is sitting behind two consistent players in superstars Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor. While the versatility to play multiple positions is valuable, Noel exclusively saw time in the outfield in Columbus through the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.

Moving forward, the Guardians are probably going to keep him in right field, as in recent years that has been their flex position. Whether it was former Guardians Will Benson or Nolan Jones, and current Guardians Gabriel Arias, Will Brennan, and David Fry, the team has seen the most amount of changes on that side of the field.

Seeing more and more time in the outfield has become a trend for Noel as he has progressed through the minor league system, and if the team wants to get the most out of him in the majors, he should remain a consistent body out there. The Guardians have already seen the versatility of other prospects such as Angel Martinez and Kyle Manzardo, but no other Guardian has showcased such power as Jhonkensy Noel.

For now, the future is certainly bright for Noel, but the question still remains on whether or not he will stay up in the big leagues through 2024.