This Cleveland Guardians Slugger Has Never Been So Unlucky

When the Cleveland Guardians swung a trade to acquire outfielder Nolan Jones shortly before the start of the 2025 MLB campaign, they were hoping he would provide a great platoon option with Jhonkensy Noel in right field.

Needless to say, that has not happened thus far. Not only has Noel gotten off to a miserable start, but Jones has struggled, as well, slashing just .169/.279/.292 with two home runs and seven RBI over 112 plate appearances.

But is there reason for optimism?

Joe Noga of Cleveland.com has provided a silver lining for Jones, who actually owns a respectable .770 OPS since entering the big leagues back in 2022.

“Jones had struggled to a .152 batting average entering the finale against Milwaukee with a .554 OPS and two home runs. His RBI single in the fourth inning gave him seven runs driven in on the season," Noga wrote. "Despite the low output, Jones remains among the best in the majors in average exit velocity (96th percentile) and hard-hit percentage (88th percentile) according to Statcast."

Analytics represent a significant part of how managers and front-office executives build their rosters, so there is no doubt that Stephen Vogt and Co. are well aware of these numbers.

On top of that, Jones owns a .230 BABIP, well below the approximate league average of .290. For reference, his career BABIP is .353, which is also abnormal. But perhaps a happy medium exists?

Overall, though, the 27-year-old — who was originally selected by the Guardians in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft — is experiencing the unluckiest season of his career, and things are bound to turn around so long as he keeps hitting the ball hard (his barrel rate of 12.5 percent is actually above his lifetime average of 12.1 percent).

Back in 2023, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 with 20 homers and 62 RBI across 424 trips to the dish for the Colorado Rockies. While he may not reach that level this season, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that he is much better than his numbers indicate.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage