The Cleveland Guardians are a much more powerful team than they were last season, and one of the reasons for that is the power that John-Kenshi Noel brought to the lineup in his rookie season.
Noel once again showed off his power, recording his first career multi-home run game against the Chicago Cubs.
Noel’s first home run was big for two reasons: Not only did it give the Guardians their first lead of the night, but it was also incredibly fast, hitting at 106.3 mph. Prior to this hit, the Guardians had struggled to find their footing on offense.
But Noel gave Cleveland a chance to win, scoring four runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth.
But Christmas’ big moment didn’t end there. In his next at-bat, in the sixth inning, Noel watched a replay of his previous play and smashed a home run over the left field fence at 97.9 mph for a distance of 378 feet.
John Kenshi lost. #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/2YFrhGaq9d
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 13, 2024
The most important thing about those home runs is that neither pitch was in the zone. Shota Imanaga’s first was an 83 mph slider well below the zone that Noel reached down low to catch. The second was another low, outside pitch that the Cleveland slugger pulled.
This shows the raw power that Noel possesses, and this performance is another example of why Noel deserves more at-bats than he is currently getting.
