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Cleveland Guardians' Jhonkensy Noel Blasts Home Run to Break Statcast Era Record

Jhonkensy Noel made his second MLB home run count, wrapping a 115.4 mile-per-hour rocket around the foul pole to give the Cleveland Guardians a lead over the Kansas City Royals.
Sam Connon|
Jun 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfield Jhonkensy Noel (43) celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Jun 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfield Jhonkensy Noel (43) celebrates after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

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Cleveland Guardians

Jhonkensy Noel already made history in his MLB debut earlier this week, but now the Cleveland Guardians slugger has broken a franchise record.

After drawing a walk in his first plate appearance against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, Noel stepped up to the plate again in the top of the fourth with two down and a man on first. Noel worked his way to a 2-2 count, then cranked a slider deep to left field.

Noel crushed the ball 115.4 miles per hour with a 22 degree launch angle, sending it flying 413 feet. It took a video review to determine whether or not it stayed fair, but the crew confirmed that Noel's homer had indeed wrapped around the foul pole.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, it was the hardest-hit home run by a Guardians player since the Statcast era began in 2015.

The 22-year-old's two-run home run also put Cleveland on top 3-2. They went on to win 7-2.

It's been an eventful week for Noel, who was called up to the big leagues for the first time on Wednesday. His bat slipped out of his hands during his first MLB swing, but he wound up crushing a home run later that same at-bat.

Noel is no stranger to hitting homers, making quite the habit of doing so in the minors over the past few years.

In 518 career minor league appearances, Noel has recorded 112 home runs and 370 RBI while batting .257 with an .824 OPS. On a per 162 game basis, that is good for 35 home runs and 116 RBI.

The corner outfielder/corner infielder was ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the Guardians' farm system prior to getting called up. Through four games of MLB action, Noel is batting .333 with a 1.511 OPS.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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