To say that Jhonkensy Noel’s play for the Cleveland Guardians this season has been underwhelming would be an understatement.
They had high expectations for the 23-year-old outfielder.
Unfortunately, his struggles at the plate have set the team back over and over, and he can’t find his way out of the slump.
That’s why Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com believes Noel is going to be the odd man out of the outfield sooner rather than later.
“When [Lane] Thomas returns, Jhonkensy Noel, Big Christmas, is the postseason hero who could pay the price. Unfortunately, Noel hasn’t hit much of anything this year. … It’s hard to look at a .150 (12 for 80) batting average and make a case for why he should stay in the big leagues,” Hoynes wrote. “A trip to Columbus might not be all that bad for Noel. At least he’d get a chance to play every day, get his swing in order and help the Guardians later in the season.”
Noel has just one hit in his past 23 at-bats.
The Guardians have platooned him and Nolan Jones at right field, but with Thomas set to return in the coming days, he should slide right back into that spot to try to provide some sort of offensive punch.
It’s hard to believe that Thomas will do any worse than Noel or Jones, with the Guardians having the worst batting average (.170) among MLB right fielders.
They also rank No. 29 in slugging (.288) and OPS (.517).
The Guardians have gotten some strong production from Angel Martinez in center field.
So, with Jones out of minor-league options and being a slightly better hitter than Noel, the writing is on the wall for the latter to be sent down.
Noel won’t have many more opportunities to prove that he belongs, at least for the time being.
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