Brooklyn Cyclones: Lefty Thomas Szapucki impresses in first start at Coney

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

GAME CALLED

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Tuesday Twin-Bill Could Spell Double Trouble ... for Either Team.

Mother Nature said 

no Monday Night Baseball for you.

Sunday Final

Game One
Staten Is.   0
Brooklyn   3

Coach Gamboa made use of five Cyclones pitchers who combined on a four hit, 13 strikeout, whitewashing of the first place Staten Island Yankees in Sunday's series opener at Coney Island.

Brooklyn starter, southpaw Thomas Szapucki, celebrated his promotion from the Kingsport Mets with a victory in his first start with the Cyclones.  He limited the Yankees to four hits, three walks, and fanned eight batters over 5.1 innings pitched.

Relievers Kyle Regnault, Adam Atkins, Taylor Henry, and Joseph Zanghi, were perfect over the final 3.2 innings, allowing no hits, no walks, and fanning five in securing Brooklyn's 3-0 victory.

Prior to joining the Cyclones, Thomas Szapucki, 20, made five starts for the (R) Kingsport Mets where he posted a 2-1 record with an 0.62 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, while allowing just 16 hits, nine walks, with 47 strikeouts through 29 innings pitched.  Batters struggled to hit .157 against him.

Weighing in at 6'2" 205 lbs., the Mets selected Szapucki in the fifth round of the 2015 draft.

• The Cyclones got RBI from Gene Cone, Michael Paez, and Desmond Lindsay who played in just his second game with the Cyclones after four appearances with the GCL Mets.  This is Lindsay's (the Mets 2015 2nd round draft pick) second touch in Brooklyn.

• First baseman Peter Alonso (the Mets 2016 2nd round pick) seems to find Coney Island to his liking. He's slashing .315/.413/.574 through is first 15 games with the Cyclones, with five doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI in 54 at-bats.

Due to Monday night's rain-out, the Cyclones and Yankees will play a twin-bill on Tuesday.  With Sunday's victory, the Cyclones closed to within four games of the first place Yankees.

Both teams are now 4-6 in their last ten games.  Success on Tuesday can turn Brooklyn's season around on a dime.  They presently sport a sub .500 17-19 record this season.  Meanwhile, back to back losing seasons has been something unheard of in Coney Island.

Shudder to think...

Brooklyn Cyclones: Lowell Spinners Complete Coney Island Sweep

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

13-16

tied last place

McNamara Division

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Time for all these college kids to start showing what they can do...

It took some doing, but the 2016 Brooklyn Cyclones are finally assembled.

Former University of Connecticut southpaw Anthony Kay, the Mets first round compensatory draft pick (#31 overall) finally agreed to terms with the club on Wednesday - two days before the July 15 signing deadline - and will report to the Brooklyn Cyclones.

That means all eleven of the Mets first ten round selections are now signed, sealed, and delivered straight out of college - an astonishing turn from the Paul DePodesta era.

That said, let the frat party begin...

Delta Tau Chi - Brooklyn

• Rd. 1 - Justin Dunn, rhp, Boston College
• Rd. 1 - Anthony Kay, lhp, UConn
• Rd. 2 - Peter Alonso, 1b, Florida
• Rd. 3 - Blake Tiberi, 3b, Louisville
• Rd. 4 - Michael Paez, 2b, Coastal Carolina
• Rd. 5 - Colby Woodmansee, ss, Arizona State
• Rd. 7 - Austin McGeorge. rhp, Long Beach State
• Rd. 10 - Gene Cone, of, South Carolina

Kingsport

• Rd. 6 - Chris Viall, rhp, Stanford
• Rd. 8 - Placido Torres, rhp, Tusculum, TN
• Rd. 9 - Colin Holderman, rhp, Heartland CC, IL

Brooklyn's opening week of the regular season was somewhat less like baseball, and something more akin to boot camp, having to play 56 innings (29 extra innings) in the span of just four games/days, highlighted by their 20 inning opening night loss against the Staten Island Yankees.

An omen of things to come?

They were promptly no-hit thereafter, and recently turned the club's first ever triple play.  In other words, the first 39 games of the season have provided fans with a little bit of everything both, good and bad.

Despite their sub .500 record, they've more importantly managed to stay within shouting distance of first place Staten Island, who jumped out to a 5-0 start, and posted a fine 11-3 record in June.  But the junior Bombers have since cooled.  Saturday's loss against Hudson Valley dropped them to 7-9 for the month of July.

Brooklyn, however, is presently failing to seize the moment.  They entered Saturday's action trailing Staten Island by six games, but gained no ground after getting whitewashed 4-0 Saturday, capping off a sweep by the visiting Lowell Spinners, whom initially shut-out the Cyclones 1-0 in Thursday's series opener at MCU Park.

   

The loss dropped Brooklyn's season record to 13-16, but there's a case to be made their season is just beginning.

Saturday only marked Michael Paez' fourth appearance for Brooklyn, as he played for Coastal Carolina during their recently concluded college championship run, while first baseman Peter Alonso just concluded his first full week with the Cyclones.  

The Cyclones presently rank 13th with a .214 team batting average, yet rank sixth in the circuit in runs scored.  So there's hope for this line-up yet.

Likewise, there's hope pitchers Anthony Kay and Justin Dunn can soon help getting Brooklyn's 5th worst team ERA turning in a better direction.

Last Sunday, Justin Dunn (#19 overall) made his Brooklyn debut.  It was his second relief appearance of the season, and for a second straight time pitched two scoreless innings en route to earning his first victory as a professional.  The Hudson Valley Renegades witnessed Dunn's full repertoire, including a fastball that popped the catcher's mitt with a top speed of 97 mph.

He is adhering to a prescribed light schedule - every sixth day.  His next appearance was scheduled for Saturday, June 16.  That never happened.  Perhaps Sunday then?

Dunn otherwise discussed making his first professional start during SNY-TV's live coverage of Wednesday's Cyclones game, perhaps next week against the Aberdeen Ironbirds - albeit a limited three inning start at most.