Jhonkensy Noel

Naylor opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run double off of Bailey Falter in the opening inning. He added an RBI single in the fifth and scored on Jhonkensy Noel's two-run blast. Naylor also smacked an RBI single in the eighth inning that increased the Guardians' lead to 10-7 but appeared to roll his ankle in the process and was replaced by a pinch-runner. He'll head for further evaluation to determine the severity of the injury.

The Guardians scored four times in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead and then added an insurance run in the eighth. Noel was back in the lineup today after sitting on Tuesday. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has done a lot of mixing and matching in the bottom half of the order, but Noel seems like he should be an everyday guy until there's reason for that to stop. He's batting .264/.338/.603 in 136 plate appearances.

The 29-year-old has gotten off to a terrible start in his Guardians career hitting .145/.233/.197 with 34 strikeouts in 25 games. That's not the type of impact the team was hoping to get from him after acquiring him from the Nationals at the trade deadline. Will Brennan will start in center field with Jhonkensy Noel in right field, but the Guardians will certainly hope a day off here and there wakes up Thomas' bat.

Jhonkensy Noel looks good and who can we expect up in September? The post CT 23 – Are We Buying Jhonkensy Noel’s Power Surge? appeared first on Pitcher List.

Noel has prodigious power, it's as simple as that. He took a fastball up and in from Cody Bradford and turned it around in a hurry. His 12 homers in 41 games would put him on pace for about 45 in a full season and he's gotten by in his first stint as a major leaguer despite one of the worst chase rates in the league. Also, he's a sneaky good athlete. He went first to third on a single in the seventh inning and then came around to score on an errant pick-off throw to give his Guardians a valuable insurance run. He can and likely will provide power down the stretch.