The baseball season is kicking off in Brooklyn this weekend as the Brooklyn Cyclones begin their 2023 season on Friday afternoon.
Formerly the short-season affiliate of the
New York Mets, the Brooklyn Cyclones are now the High-A affiliate, which means they will be the home for many of the Mets’ top young prospects during the year. In fact, this year’s Brooklyn Cyclones’ roster features five Top 30 Mets’ prospects according to MLB.com, including 2022 first-round selection Kevin Parada, second-round pick RHP Blade Tidwell, and top prospect Alex Ramírez.
In 2022, the Brooklyn Cyclones were the best team in the second half of the year in the South Atlantic League, posting a 40-26 record. They also allowed just 248 runs during the second half, which was the lowest of any team in the league. While some of the players from last year’s team have been promoted to other affiliates in the Mets’ organization, this year’s team has 17 players who were on the St. Lucie Mets last year, the team that won the Florida State League. So championship blood remains.
Below we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to enjoy this upcoming Brooklyn Cyclones season.
What Does High-A Affiliate Mean?
Every MLB team has multiple minor league teams within the same organization. Most organizations start with a Rookie-level team for players who are drafted in the June MLB Draft. The vast majority of professional baseball players will begin their careers on the Rookie team. Then, depending on their age and performance, they can be promoted up through other levels.
The order of the levels is Rookie to A-Ball, High-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and then the Majors. Players can skip levels and they can move up and then back down.
Since Brooklyn is a High-A team, that means most of these players are in their second season and are likely two or three years away from playing for the Mets at Citi Field, if they ever get that chance.
Where do the Brooklyn Cyclones Play?
The Brooklyn Cyclones play in Coney Island on the Boardward (Surf Avenue) at Maimonides Park or the “Ballpark on the Boardwalk.” It originally opened as KeySpan Park before the inaugural 2001 season but has since been renamed.
The park is connected to tons of Brooklyn history. It’s the first professional baseball stadium in Brooklyn since Ebbets Field was torn down in 1960. The stadium also sits under the last remaining relic of Steeplechase Park, the landmarked Parachute Jump, which is located just beyond the right field wall. Parachute Jump was moved to Coney Island from the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens, so it is long a part of New York history.
When do the Brooklyn Cyclones Play?
The Brooklyn Cyclones play a five-and-a-half-month season that ends in the middle of September. Just like with the major league teams, the Cyclones play their opponents in three-game series (mostly) which means they will most often play at home for 3-6 games before going on a road trip.
You can see the full schedule here
Which Brooklyn Cyclones Should I Know?
The Cyclones have a few players who could realistically be members of the Mets in the coming years. You can see the whole roster here, but we’ll discuss a few top players in detail below.
Kevin Parada – C
Parada is currently ranked as the 36th-best prospect in baseball by MLB.com and 60th by ProspectsLive.
Another talented catcher, Parada is likely two seasons behind Mets’ top prospect Francisco Alvarez in terms of projected arrival in Queens. Like Alvarez, Parada is an offense-first catcher who has made gains with his defense but has a below-average arm which could be a problem in this new MLB environment with teams running like crazy.
Regardless, Parada’s bat will play at the big league level. He can drive the ball to all fields and can do so with some pop. He’s a future 20+ home run hitter who had plus batting averages in college and controls the strike zone well enough to suggest that he should continue to produce those in professional baseball as well.
Alex Ramirez – OF
Ramirez is currently ranked as the 71st-best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, 84th by ProspectsLive, and 96th by MLB.com.
At just 19 years old, there is a lot to like about Ramirez, who has a 6’3″ frame that could put on even more muscle to improve what is already impressive pull-side power. That power has yet to show up consistently in games, but that’s not unusual for players at this age who haven’t yet grown into their bodies.
What’s most intriguing about Ramirez is the plate discipline gains he showed last year, cutting his strikeout rate to 18% at Port St. Lucie and then upping his walk rate to a career-high as the summer went on. Given his potentially plus defense in center field and his explosive bat speed, improved plate discipline could mean Ramirez takes a big step in 2023.
Blake Tidwell – RHP
Tidwell is not ranked in the MLB top 100, but he is the Mets’ 7th-ranked prospect and the team’s top pitching prospect overall.
At 6’4″ and 210 pounds, the 21-year-old has great size for a pitcher and flashes a 96 mph fastball. He also has a strong slider in the mid-80s which has impressive break and also features a north-south curveball and a solid changeup. He only pitched one inning with the Rookie team before being promoted to St. Lucie, where he had a 2.16 ERA in four starts.
Shoulder issues limited him to only 39 innings with the University of Tennessee before the draft, so the Mets were cautious with his workload in the first season, but he should be fully ready to go for opening night.
The Cyclones open the 2023 season with a three-game set against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, at Maimonides Park starting on Friday, April 7.
For more MLB coverage, like this Brooklyn Cyclones preview, visit amNY Sports
