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Cleveland Guardians Slugger Among MLB Leaders In Impressive Stat
Apr 26, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Nolan Jones (22) celebrates after hitting a double during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians Slugger Among MLB Leaders In Impressive Stat

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated May 6, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians knew they needed some more pop out of their outfield heading into the 2025 season. To address this, the organization traded for Nolan Jones just days before Opening Day.

Heading into Tuesday's doubleheader, Jones was hitting just .156/.278/.260 on the season, but the underlying statistics are more than encouraging for the slugger.

One of those motivating numbers is Jones' average exit velocity of 94.8 mph. The outfielder is absolutely crushing the ball, even though he hasn't seen a ton of in-game success yet.

Running From The OPS on X put in perspective just how good Jones' exit velocity is. Only eight baseball players have a higher exit velocity (based on qualified BBE).

The players ahead of Jones on this list include Shohei Ohtani (96.7 mph), O'Neil Cruz (96.1 mph), Aaron Judge (95.6 mph), Gunnar Henderson (95.4 mph), Pete Alonso (95.3 mph), Rafael Devers (95.3), Johnathan Aranda (95.1. mph), and Matt Olson (95.0 mph).

Just about all of these players are some of the best home run sluggers or overall hitters in the game right now.

With how hard Jones is hitting the ball and where his xBA is at, he has to start finding some luck at some point.

Perhaps that luck could be turning around, too.

In the series opener against the Washington Nationals, Jones hit a no-doubt-about-it 422-foot homer and followed that up with a double in his next at-bat.

If the Guardians can get Jones' bat going, they could have one of the best power-hitters in baseball by the time the summer months roll around.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage


This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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