Cleveland Guardians outfielder Jhonkensy Noel was projected to blossom into a powerful, middle-of-the-order force in the lineup this season, but he struggled mightily to the tune of a .392 OPS through 46 games before ultimately being demoted back to Triple-A Columbus last week.
Cleveland’s offense has struggled mightily as a whole, so it’s important for Noel to find ways to tap into his immense potential, and he gave Guardians fans a glimpse of that during Thursday night’s Columbus game.
Guardians Prospective shared footage of Noel’s big night on X, which featured a pair of monstrous home runs that traveled a combined 876 feet in the team’s 7-1 victory.
876 feet 😱 of home runs tonight by Cleveland #Guardians 23yr old OF Jhonkensy Noel as he left the yard twice for Columbus driving in four runs in the team's 7-to-1 win at Buffalo!
(1) 457 Feet / 113.1 EV
(2) 419 Feet / 112.2 EV#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/vwCFT1J4nS— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 13, 2025
Noel clubbed only two homers for the Guardians all season after mashing 13 in just 67 games last season, so it’s nice to see the demotion paying immediate dividends for Big Christmas.
If Cleveland had more options on offense, this demotion could have easily come sooner, but Noel is one of 11 Guardians hitting under .210 this season, nine of whom are hitting under .200.
With David Fry and Lane Thomas recently coming back from injury, the hope is that the two veterans can start producing like they have in years past to get Cleveland’s offense back to being at least average.
In the meantime, Noel is still just 23 and has plenty of time to grow, so he’ll hopefully use this time to work on making better swing decisions and generating more consistent contact.
Guardians fans certainly haven’t seen the last of Big Christmas, and when he does come back to the big leagues, they’ll hopefully be treated to more nights like he had on Thursday.
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