Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Absent from Game 3 lineup
Rotowire
Noel is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 3 of the ALDS against the Tigers, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Noel started each of the first two games of the series but went 0-for-4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. In Game 3 he will yield right field to Will Brennan, who is batting seventh for the Guardians.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Starting in Game 1 of ALDS
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Noel is starting in right field and batting seventh Saturday against Detroit in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Will Brennan got the start in right field in two of the Guardians' final three regular-season games, but Noel is getting the call for the first game of the ALDS against the Tigers. Detroit is slated to use left-hander Tyler Holton as the opener in the contest, and righty Reese Olson is expected to follow in bulk relief. Noel batted .246 against southpaws and just .205 versus righties during the regular season.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Losing work against RHPs
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Noel is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins.
Noel will take a seat against a right-handed pitcher (Pablo Lopez) for the second day in a row and may have lost hold of an everyday role in right field while he's struggled to a .125/.176/.250 slash line with a 32.4 percent strikeout rate thus far in September. The lefty-hitting Will Brennan will get the nod in right field Monday and could be set to occupy the strong side of platoon with Noel over the final two weeks of the regular season.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Losing out on everyday role
Rotowire
Noel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
Noel has opened September by going 2-for-14 with five strikeouts and no walks, and his downward-trending performance at the dish appears to have cost him a regular spot in the Cleveland lineup. He'll hit the bench Sunday for the fourth time in five contests, with each of those absences coming against right-handed starting pitchers.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Absent from Cleveland lineup
Rotowire
Noel is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Rangers.
Noel had started each of the last four games and eight of the last nine, but he will begin Friday's series opener on the bench. Will Brennan is occupying right field for the Guardians.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Collects first two-homer game
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Noel went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI during Monday's win over the Cubs.
Noel's first homer was a three-run blast off Chicago starter Shota Imanaga in the fourth. He followed that up with a solo dinger off Nate Pearson in the sixth that increased the lead to five. It was the first career multiple home run performance for Noel, who also posted a career-high four RBI during the winning effort. It was a nice performance for the 23-year-old rookie who now has eight homers in his first 80 at-bats in the majors, though he has started just four games since the arrival of Lane Thomas at the trade deadline.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Heading to bench in Thomas' debut
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Noel is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.
The right-handed-hitting Noel had started in each of the Guardians' last eight games, but he mostly benefited from Cleveland facing a lefty-heavy slate, as well as Josh Naylor missing out on two starts due to general soreness. During that time, Noel had primarily filled the short side of a platoon in right field with the left-handed-hitting Will Brennan, who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus after the Guardians acquired Lane Thomas on Monday. Thomas will get the start in right field Tuesday, and unlike Brennan, he's expected to play on an everyday basis against both right- and left-handed pitching. As such, Noel's main path to playing time may now come as a backup at first base to Naylor or at designated hitter to David Fry.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Crushes second homer
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Noel went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Royals.
In his fourth big-league game, Noel launched his second big-league homer, and it wasn't a cheap one -- the 22-year-old ripped a Cole Ragans slider down the left-field line in the fourth inning, and the ball left his bat at 115.4 mph. Per Mandy Bell of MLB.com, it was the hardest-hit home run by a Cleveland player since Statcast was introduced in 2015. Noel has started two of four games since his promotion, going 3-for-9 with a double in addition to the long balls, but the Guardians will find room for him in the lineup more often if he keeps displaying this kind of power.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Summoned to big leagues
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The Guardians recalled Noel from Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday. He'll start at first base and bat sixth in the Guardians' series finale in Baltimore.
Noel will hit the big leagues for the first time. The 22-year-old slashed .295/.359/.578 with 18 home runs over 65 games with Columbus this season. Much of that production has come since the start of May, with Noel producing a .343/.404/.651 line with 14 home runs in 43 contests over that stretch. Noel has also struck out at just an 18.1-percent rate since May 1, which is a positive development for a player who has often struggled to make contact during his minor-league career. While he can handle first base and the corner outfield spots in a pinch, Noel's best shot at consistent playing time in Cleveland could come at designated hitter.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Optioned to Columbus
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The Guardians optioned Noel to Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Noel went 5-for-22 with a 10:0 K:BB over nine Cactus League showings. The 22-year-old has some of the best raw power in the organization but needs to tamp down the strikeouts.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Will get look in multiple spots
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Noel will get some time at first base, left field and right field during 2023, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.
Noel is likely to begin the season with Triple-A Columbus, where he received a late promotion and played four games last season. Across three levels of the minors in 2022, he hit 32 home runs. He still strikes out at a high rate -- that mark was at 27.4 percent last season, but the power remains enticing if he can improve his plate discipline. The 21-year-old is a natural first baseman, but getting more time in the corner outfield at the highest levels of the minors could open more pathways for his eventual major-league debut.
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Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Noel was promoted to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.
The 21-year-old infield prospect slashed .242/.338/.488 over 67 games in Double-A Akron this season and will now finish his season in Columbus. If he enjoys similar success at a higher level, there is a possibility that he may crack the majors some time in 2023.
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Indians' Jhonkensy Noel: Promoted to High-A
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Noel was promoted to High-A Lake County on Tuesday.
It was a well-earned promotion for the infielder, who tore through Low-A with a .393/.426/.693 slash line, 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 36 runs scored and two stolen bases in 38 games. Noel will look to keep up the strong hitting at High-A for the remainder of the 2021 season.
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Indians' Jhonkensy Noel: Back in action
Rotowire
Low-A Lynchburg activated Noel (ankle) from its 7-day injured list Tuesday.
Noel went 3-for-14 (.214) across five games in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League. He'll look to regain an everyday role with Lynchburg now that he's healthy. Noel's slashed .347/.368/.639 across 76 plate appearances, although it seems unlikely he'll move up in the organization during 2021.
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Indians' Jhonkensy Noel: Suffers sprained ankle
Rotowire
Noel was confirmed to have avoided a fractured ankle Tuesday but does have a sprain.
Noel got off to an excellent start this season in his first taste of full-season ball, hitting .347/.368/.639 with five homers in 17 games for Low-A Lynchburg. The severity of his sprain and his expected return date are not yet clear.
