Big Four Leading High-A Brooklyn To Powerful Offensive start

The Brooklyn Cyclones (High-A) roster is littered with top prospects. First-round selections, blossoming middle-round selections, and a shining reflection of the work put in by the New York Mets’ new player development group. Brooklyn currently leads the South Atlantic League in hits, doubles, triples, batting average, OPS, and have struck out the fewest amount of times in the league. Meanwhile, they are second in home runs, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. All this has culminated in a 25-12 record, second-best in the league.

The offensive charge has been led by a deadly top four of the order in Carson Benge, Eli Serrano III, A.J. Ewing, and Jacob Reimer. Benge, the Mets ‘ first-round selection from a year ago, got off to a cold start but has been scorching hot since. He is the proud owner of a .900 OPS in the month of May, and has totaled eight walks in 13 games. His running game has stepped up as well, with now five steals in May as compared to only one in April. On the season, Benge owns a .868 OPS with three homers and six stolen bases.

Benge has typically been paired in the outfield with 2024 fourth-round selection Eli Serrano III out of North Carolina State. Serrano, 22, was one of the more interesting Mets’ selections last year as a sophomore in college. A more advanced hitter than most, Serrno is currently slashing .248/.375/.444 with five homers, 10 doubles, and a triple, to go along with four stolen bases. Most impressively, in 33 games, the 6-foot-5 left-handed batter has walked 23 times, which is top 10 in the South Atlantic League. Serrano profiles long-term as a big left-handed bat with strong power.

Behind them has been the power threat of 2022 fourth-round selection Jacob Reimer, who is finally keyed in after a back-and-forth start to his professional career. Through 35 games this season, Reimer is mashing at a clip of .341/.433/.652 (1.085 OPS). Making up this line is 15 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs, good for 22 extra-base hits.

Reimer was the second-best prep player selected by the Mets in the 2022 draft behind top prospect Jett Williams. The start of Reimer’s career was a bit rough, given his 134 games played between being drafted in mid-2022 and the end of the 2024 season, but his new stability has been met with roaring success. Reimer’s OPS against left-handed pitchers sits at an unconscious 1.104, which is somehow backed up by a 1.069 mark against righties. Defensively, Reimer has almost exclusively played third base, with just five appearances (four starts) at first base so far this year, and profiles as a corner infielder long term.

Versatile defender, and 2023 fourth-round selection, A.J. Ewing began the season repeating with the St. Lucie Mets (Single-A), where he looked like a man among children. Before being promoted, Ewing had a 1.121 OPS for the Mets with a .505 OBP and 14 stolen bases. Since the promotion, his OPS sits at .967 with 12 swiped bags. The power is not much of a tool in Ewing’s bag, but it has produced 15 extra-base hits (six triples) so far this year. Ewing’s calling card has been getting on base and making action happen with his legs, which he has been able to do this year. Hitting .372 overall on the season, he has been able to reach a .473 on-base percentage across both levels to go along with a staggering 26 total stolen bases through just over 32 games.

Beyond these four major bats, another Cyclone has been doing damage, but this time at the bottom of the order, is utility man Chris Suero. At 21, Suero is finally breaking out for the Mets after showing flashes the last few years.

Suero was a low-cost international free agent signing in 2021 and has hit his stride at the plate for the Cyclones. Suero is slashing .245/.389/.510 with a .899 OPS thanks to six doubles and seven home runs. On top of the power, Suero has swiped 15 bags in 16 chances. The Bronx, New York native provides a ton of versatility for the Cyclones, logging games behind the dish, at first base, and in left field.

It has been an extremely exciting start to the 2025 season for the Mets’ High-A affiliate. Interestingly enough, Brooklyn is being led by the league’s best offense in a ballpark, Maimonides Park, that profiled as one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in all the minor leagues in 2024. According to Baseball America’s 2024 parka factors study, Brooklyn’s home field had a below average 100 park factor in terms of runs (91), home runs (84), and wOBA (96). Overall, the South Atlantic League as a whole profiles as extremely pitcher-friendly, which makes the stellar offensive performances of several on the team that much more impressive.

The post Big Four Leading High-A Brooklyn To Powerful Offensive start appeared first on Metsmerized Online.