High-A Brooklyn Season Recap: Cyclones Win It All

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones, named for the Coney Island roller coaster, had a fitting year.

Brooklyn rode a slew of quality prospects to a 46-20 record and the top of the South Atlantic League in the first half  – and after a short pause for the All-Star break and a bunch of promotions – plummeted to near the bottom of the second-half standings with a 26-39 mark.

The High-A playoffs pit the winners of the first half against the second, so all that good work early in the season was rewarded with a postseason berth. Brooklyn took advantage, sweeping a pair of best-of-three series en route to its first South Atlantic League title. (The Cyclones won Penn League titles in 2001 and 2019.)

Carson Benge (.302/.417/.480, four homers, 60 games), Jacob Reimer (.284/.384/.502, eight homers, 61 games), Chris Suero (.240/.382/.455, 13 homers, 74 games) and A.J. Ewing (.288/.387/.388, 44 steals, 78 games) led the offense. The quartet are all in the top 15 of MLB Pipeline’s Met prospects. None were on the Cyclones for the playoffs because they all had been promoted.

There were two top-30 prospects who spent all year with Brooklyn. Outfielder Eli Serrano, 22, slashed .222/.332/.358 with seven homers and ended the season the No. 12 Met prospect on MLB Pipeline. Shortstop Boston Baro, 21, hit .224/.282/.321 with four homers and 28 stolen bases. He’s ranked No. 21.

On the mound, Brendan Girton (3-3, 2.59 ERA, 91 strikeouts, 76 1/3 innings pitched), Noah Hall (5-7, 2.72 ERA, 115 strikeouts, 112 2/3 innings pitched), and Joel Díaz (5-5, 3.80 ERA, 98 strikeouts, 106 2/3 innings pitched) were the top three in games started. Girton, a 2024 10th-round pick from the University of Oklahoma, threw five perfect innings in June. He finished the year at Double-A Binghamton.

Hall, 24, was there for the playoffs, throwing 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Brooklyn’s 13-1 victory over the Hub City Spartanburgers in Game 1 of the championship series. Díaz was still around, too, and fired 6 2/3 scoreless frames in the 4-1 semifinals-clinching win over the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

Some other pitchers of note who suited up for the Cyclones (stats are their numbers in Brooklyn only):

• Will Watson, 1-3, 1.70 ERA, 77 strikeouts, 63 2/3 innings, No. 11 Met prospect on MLB Pipeline
• Jonathan Santucci, 5-4, 3.46 ERA, 75 strikeouts, 67 2/3 innings, No. 14
• Dylan Ross, 2-0, 1.54 ERA, 23 strikeouts, 11 2/3 innings, No. 20
• Ryan Lambert, 1.13 ERA, 17 strikeouts, eight innings, No. 22
• Zach Thornton, 3-0, 0.44 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 20 2/3 innings, No. 23
• R.J. Gordon, 5-2, 3.06 ERA, 76 strikeouts, 67 2/3 innings, No. 25

Thornton, a 23-year-old lefty, was the SAL Pitcher of the Month in April. After moving up to Binghamton, he went 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in 10 starts covering 52 innings, striking out 53 and walking nine.

All of these pitchers were promoted. Ross, who features a fastball that was clocked at 102 mph, reached the majors the last weekend of the season but did not appear in a game.

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