Top Mets Prospects Grow Together, Win Together In Loaded High-A Brooklyn Lineup

Playing the outfield alongside Serrano were 2024 first-rounder Carson Benge and spark plug A.J. Ewing. Benge, Ewing and Serrano rotate between the three outfield posts, each rangy enough for center and with enough arm for right.

The Cyclones’ infield alignment is similarly fluid. Jesus Baez, Boston Baro and Marco Vargas make most middle infield starts. Baez and Baro play third base, as well, but the club’s primary hot corner option is emerging 21-year-old slugger Jacob Reimer, the South Atlantic League player of the month in April. 

Reimer played shortstop in high school, dabbled in left field in the Arizona Fall League last year and was beginning to see more action at first base this spring. He has kept mashing after his award-winning April, and no minor leaguer with at least 100 plate appearances had a higher wRC+ than his 198 heading into mid May.

Both of Brooklyn’s 21-year-old catchers also figure in the club’s first base mix. Christopher Suero and Ronald Hernandez both can hit and both play multiple positions. Suero even plays left field sometimes.

“This team is special. It’s one of the best teams I’ve been a part of,” said Brooklyn first-year hitting coach Bryan Muniz, who worked in the same capacity for the Astros’ High-A Asheville affiliate last year. 

“Development comes first, but the hunger to want to win stands out with this team.”

A typical Brooklyn lineup includes seven, eight or nine top 30-caliber prospects, with a defensive alignment that changes daily. Every one of the highlighted players but Serrano throws righthanded, allowing for maximum versatility, to the point where Ewing, who was a high school shortstop, plays second base at times.

In fact, “high school shortstop” is a common theme for the 2025 Cyclones. It applies to Baro, Ewing and Reimer. Baez and Vargas also entered pro ball as teenage shortstops, in their cases hailing from the Dominican Republic and Mexico, respectively.  

In recent drafts, the Mets have earmarked bonus pool money to go over slot to sign talented prep shortstops away from college commitments. In 2022, it was fourth-rounder Reimer, who missed most of last season with a serious hamstring injury. In 2023, it was supplemental fourth-rounder Ewing and eighth-rounder Baro. 

Now, Baro, Ewing and Reimer are teammates in a Brooklyn lineup that is the third youngest in the SAL. More important than the Cyclones’ youth is the fact that they are scoring runs, winning games and building the camaraderie that follows from playing well individually and succeeding collectively.

From winning, team chemistry often springs, and the vibes are strong in the Brooklyn clubhouse. Benge and Serrano are natural team leaders, based on them being two of the older position prospects and both having power conference backgrounds in college.

Muniz credits Serrano with having a “big voice” and “good energy” for the Cyclones. As leadoff man, he sets the tone in more ways than one. The 6-foot-5 lefthanded batter hits the ball hard and is working to get in the best position for the long levers in his swing to play. 

Benge starred as a two-way player at Oklahoma State and was drafted 19th overall last year. His bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions are already well-defined. The lefthanded hitter can let the ball travel deep and hit with authority to the opposite field, which Muniz refers to as Benge’s superpower.

Now, Benge is making progress hitting breaking pitches in the air to his pull side to tap into his power. 

“He’s been a great team guy,” Muniz said. “He picks teammates up. He knows when to joke. He’s just special in the clubhouse, where he goes out of his way to talk to teammates.”

Brooklyn ranks third in the SAL in runs scored, just a few behind league leaders Hudson Valley and Greensboro. No Cyclones squad has ever finished higher than 10th out of 12 teams previously as a full-season affiliate, a period dating back to 2021. 

For the Cyclones, it’s a total team effort. They lead the SAL in batting average and slugging. They rank second in home runs, on-base percentage and stolen bases. Their lineup is balanced. Baro, Benge, Ewing, Serrano and Vargas bat lefthanded, while Baez, Reimer and Suero bat righthanded. Hernandez is a natural righty who switch-hits.

Success for the Cyclones’ lefthanded hitters is notable. A strong ocean breeze blows in from right field at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Park and tends to knock down fly balls hit in that direction. The park is one of the most difficult for lefthanded hitters to homer in among all 120 full-season minor league venues.  

“At the end of the day, baseball is baseball. And it’s been the same for 100 years,” Muniz said. “While our home park is pitcher-friendly, consistency is what’s important. Swing at the right pitches, and you’ll make more contact, and you’ll hit the ball hard.

“We’re trying to make you a big leaguer, not a High-A all-star. A hard line drive might get caught up in the wind in right field in Brooklyn, (whereas) a pop fly to right field might go out in (hitter-friendly) Asheville. But which of those will play in Citi Field?”

Brooklyn’s team ERA is second best in the league—no surprise given the Cyclones’ home park—which yields a plus-54 team run differential that is second only to Hudson Valley in the SAL. 

If they can keep up the pace, the Cyclones’ .625 winning percentage would be far and away the highest for a Mets full-season affiliate this decade. The Low-A St. Lucie Mets finished with a .566 mark in 2022, but that team was an older one without a ton of prospect juice, aside from partial seasons from college arms Christian Scott and Mike Vasil.  

And while there’s still a lot of baseball to be played this season, the 2025 Brooklyn Cyclones are setting a standard of excellence among Mets affiliates.

“We’re very excited about our Brooklyn roster,” Mets farm director Andrew Christie said. “The depth of talent there is emblematic of the type of system we believe we have. 

“Our goal is to develop major league talent while winning games at the minor league level, and this year’s Cyclones team is leading the charge.”