Jhonkensy Noel may be the power hitter of the future for the Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have a hard-hitting prospect to keep an eye on.

Not since Travis Hafner have the Cleveland Guardians had such an obvious power-hitting prospect with some gaping holes in their swing. That’s the best way to describe 21-year-old, minor league prospect Jhonkensy Noel, who was recently called up to Triple-A Columbus to help fill the numerous voids that the team is having after Cleveland called up most of their best talent.

Noel is a player most fans may not know much about but the young man has power for days. He’s hit 51 home runs in 824 plate appearances over the last two seasons. In his last 881 plate appearances as a full-time minor leaguer, Hafner hit just 47 home runs. The one thing that Hafner proved to be more impressive than Noel at, however, was batting average. Hafner hit .312 over that same span, while Noel hit .285.

He’s currently hitting .231 across three different leagues in 2022, a far cry from his .340 average last year. The big difference is Noel has been playing mostly in Double-A Akron this year, as opposed to the Rookie and Lower-A ball he was in last year. The talent is better.

Yet, if he can figure out his swing with the guys he’s playing against and get his average up, Noel may be the first real power-hitting prospect the team can lean on since Hafner.

The Cleveland Guardians need a power hitter like Jhonkensy Noel

Noel is not a finished project, not by any means. He’s only 21 years old and has powers for the day. Yet, Bobby Bradley had power for days too, but he struck out a lot. Noel is suffering from the same issue. In 534 plate appearances this season, he’s struck out 145 times.

That may not seem like a lot but look at the Guardians as a team. Of all the players who have had 500 appearances or more, Amed Rosario leads the team with 106 strikeouts. That said, he’s also 99 more appearances than Noel to boot. So while it may seem like they’re comparable, they’re not. Rosario is far more disciplined.

The MLB home run leader, Aaron Judge, has 163 strikeouts. He also has a batting average of .315. So if Noel is going to strike out at the same pace as Judge, he’s going to need to hit as many home runs and be as consistent at the plate.

Noel has a lot of potential, especially if his swing gets straightened out in Columbus because the Guardians need that kind of power. Oscar Gonzalez is going to provide a nice pop but not like Noel can. The Guardians had a few skids where they weren’t hitting well, where a home run or two would have given them the win. Due to the lack of pop, however, the team couldn’t make teams pay for their mistakes at the plate and instead of tying up a game or taking the lead, the Guards would simply settle for a single.

Put a guy like Noel up there and some of those close games the Guards lost may suddenly become victories and those long losing streaks may only have been a couple of games at worst. You don’t want a whole team of guys like Noel but you need the power to help break slumps and to keep you in winnable games when no one else can muster better than one single per inning.