The 2023 season was a tale of two halves for the Brooklyn Cyclones. They finished as the worst team in their division in the first half of the year before posting the joint best record in their division in the second half of the year. It wasn’t enough to earn them a postseason berth, but the Cyclones enter the 2024 season with a strong roster and clear aspirations.

Here is a look at how the current Cyclones roster stacks up.

Pitchers (16)

Brooklyn’s starting rotation evolved from one of its weakest areas over the course of the 2023 season to one of its strongest. Few of those players remain at the High-A level to start the 2024 season, but the new crop of talent possesses high upside.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Calvin Ziegler, a second-round pick in the 2021 Draft, pitched just one inning last year but racked up 70 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings on the mound in 2022. 21-year-old Douglas Orellana had 112 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings for St. Lucie in 2023. Brandon Sproat was drafted by the Mets in consecutive years and will be making his professional debut after a solid career at the University of Florida. Sproat showed off his high-octane fastball in the Spring Breakout game. Yordany Ventura had some strong outings for Brooklyn after a mid-season promotion from Low-A St. Lucie last year.

The bullpen retains some key pieces, including Jordan Geber and Joshua Cornielly. Joining them are recent draft picks and undrafted signees like Ben Simon and Dakota Hawkins, as well as established minor league veterans like Josh Hejka and Diosmerky Taveras.

Catchers (3)

Brooklyn has enjoyed a glut of highly touted catching prospects in recent years with Francisco Álvarez and Kevin Parada. This group does not have that pedigree.

Christian Pregent, a 10th-round pick in last year’s draft, had a strong senior season at Stetson University’s plate. He struggled in minimal action for St. Lucie and Brooklyn after being drafted, but he has the highest offensive upside among this unit.

José Hernández and Drake Osborn have both not hit much in their professional careers. However, they will likely serve as more defensive-minded options behind the dish.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Infielders (7)

The star of the show here is Ryan Clifford, one of the two prospects acquired in the Justin Verlander trade at last year’s deadline. He possesses a ton of power at the plate, and it seems like the Cyclones will be looking for him to man first base on an everyday basis. Clifford will look to hit better than he did in his first go-around with Brooklyn when he posted a .683 OPS in 32 games.

The rest of the infield will be made up of players with solid but unremarkable hitting capabilities. D’Andre Smith was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 Draft and posted a .674 OPS in 64 games with Brooklyn last season. William Lugo had a strong showing in 2022 but took a step back last season and will be entering his third year with Brooklyn. Mateo Gil was drafted by the Cardinals all the way back in 2018 and finds himself back in High-A after splitting time in Brooklyn and Binghamton last year.

Outfielders (3)

There are only three outfielders listed on the roster, although Clifford could occasionally see time in one of the corner spots. Stanley Consuegra and Omar De Los Santos each started over 90 games for Brooklyn last season, although they had drastically different levels of success.

Consuegra set a new career high with 23 homers while posting a .783 OPS and driving in 63 runs. Meanwhile, De Los Santos hit just seven homers and posted an underwhelming .571 OPS, although he did tally 37 steals. De Los Santos was sensational for St. Lucie in 2022, hitting 16 homers and swiping 70 bases in 111 games, so the upside is there.

Rounding out the outfield is Karell Paz, a 24-year-old signee from Cuba who played in 61 games for St. Lucie last season. He doesn’t have much pop at the plate, but his .371 OBP proves that he has a knack for getting on base even when he isn’t hitting well.

Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors

Two-Way Players (1)

Nolan McLean has his own category on Brooklyn’s official roster sheet, so he will also be treated as such here. McLean was a third-round pick in the 2023 Draft out of Oklahoma State University, and he was drafted specifically as a two-way player. He was an excellent hitter in college but didn’t get much usage on the mound.

McLean played sparingly after being selected last year, hitting in just eight games and pitching 3 1/3 innings. He is in a good position to get far more reps both at the plate and on the mound this season, however. His defensive position, when not pitching, is still up in the air as he played exclusively in the outfield in his senior season in college but also bounced around the infield in prior years. McLean showed off a high-90s fastball and a slider with spin over 3000 rpms in the Spring Breakout game.

Conclusion

The Cyclones seem to be in a better spot entering the 2024 season than they were entering 2023. The rotation is far more fleshed out, the bullpen has players with tons of professional experience under their belt, and some of the team’s largest offensive contributors are back. Add in the presence of exciting young talents like Clifford and McLean, and there is much to be excited about in Brooklyn.

It will be interesting to see how this roster evolves over the course of the season, as some of the team’s most impactful players are likely primed for a mid-season promotion. However, some highly regarded prospects are waiting in the wings in St. Lucie, so change could also bring with it an influx of new talent.

Brooklyn has its sights set on the postseason berth it came so close to capturing last season. The journey there begins on Friday, with Hall getting the Opening Day start.

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