This Cleveland Guardians Slugger Could Be a Sleeping Giant

Shortly before the start of the 2025 MLB season, the Cleveland Guardians decided to tweak their outfield just a bit more, acquiring Nolan Jones in a trade with the Colorado Rockies.

Jones actually came up in the Guardians' system and played 28 games for Cleveland in 2022, so it was a cool reunion move for both sides, and it could ultimately pay major dividends.

Thus far, however, Jones has been struggling, slashing just .143/.268/.229 with no home runs and two RBI over 41 plate appearances. But those numbers don't tell the whole story.

Zack Meisel of The Athletic has revealed some very interesting peripheral stats for Jones that indicate he may be itching to break out soon, noting that he ranks in the 92nd percentile for exit velocity and the 94th percentile for hard-hit rate (among other impressive numbers).

"Not only are those metrics encouraging, but they’re actually better than the ones from his rookie season in 2023, when he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting (and might have finished higher had he not spent the first two months at Triple A)," Meisel wrote.

Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 with 20 homers and 62 RBI during his rookie campaign and appeared to be on an All-Star trajectory until a brutal 2024 season sabotaged him. But Meisel sees much better production in his future.

"We can’t ignore the strikeout rate (4th percentile) and whiff rate (14th percentile), of course, but those are part of the package," Meisel added. "Jones will walk a lot, strike out a lot and hit for a bunch of power. That last element hasn’t materialized yet this season, but if he maintains those inputs, he should eventually be rewarded, especially since he says he feels exponentially better, physically and mentally, than he did during a rotten, Murphy’s Law-backed last season."

The Guardians landed Jones hoping he would help comprise a successful right-field platoon with Jhonkensy Noel, and both hitters have been struggling thus far.

But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Jones, who has already displayed his ability as a slugger in the past.

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