Nolan Jones DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Nolan Jones is back on the bench for Friday's contest on the road in Toronto against the Blue Jays and right-hander Chris Bassitt. It's the second straight day the left-handed hitter has been benched against a righty, with Jhonkensy Noel starting in right field again and batting eighth. Jones was the team's preferred option against righties in right field earlier this year, but the former second-rounder appears to have lost that designation after going 12-for-71 (.169) at the plate with a homer, five RBI, five runs and two steals. The 26-year-old outfielder has gone 12-for-63 (.191) against righties. The problem for Cleveland is that Noel hasn't been much better, slashing .186/.210/.305 with two home runs, eight RBI and eight runs scored in 59 at-bats. Fantasy managers should be staying away from the team's right-field platoon for the time being.

Cleveland Guardians outfielders Nolan Jones and Angel Martinez are both getting a day off on Thursday against the division-rival Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Jhonkensy Noel is starting in right field and batting fifth, while Daniel Schneemann gets the start in center field and is hitting out of the six-hole against Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson. Jones is hitting just .171 (12-for-70) on the year with a homer, five RBI and two steals, so it's possible the 26-year-old left-handed hitter could start losing more playing time against right-handed pitching. Martinez is hitting .333 (19-for-57) but hasn't homered and has only five RBI. The Dominican outfielder has seen most of the playing time in center with Lane Thomas (wrist) on the injured list. Noel and Schneemann have faced Woods Richardson a combined seven times and haven't recorded a single hit.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Nolan Jones went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in his team's 11-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. He also drew a walk and struck out. It was Jones' first long ball of the season, and the three RBIs brought him up to five to match his run total. The former second-round pick has had a dreadful start to the year, batting .190 (12-for-63) with five doubles and two steals across 24 appearances. Despite the lack of statistical output, the 26-year-old holds a strong 14.9% walk rate and is hitting the ball incredibly hard. Jones' average exit velocity (96.3 MPH) and hard-hit rate (65%) are the best figures in the bigs. Furthermore, it appears he's having some bad BABIP luck (.244 xBA). With batted ball metrics like this, the home runs should begin to fall as he sees some positive regression.