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Cyclones pitcher Harol Gonzalez was dominant in 2016

Harol Gonzalez had one of the best seasons in Brooklyn Cyclone history.

Harol Gonzalez 2 Kingsport Jessica Rudman
Harol Gonzalez
Jessica Rudman

Armed with a fringy fastball that occasionally touched 90 MPH and an assortment of breaking balls, Harol Gonzalez carved through the New York-Penn League. The 21-year-old Dominican right-hander ended the season with a 7-3 record, posting a 2.01 ERA in 85 innings, walking 18 and striking out 88. His 2.01 ERA led the New York-Penn League, as did his 88 strikeouts. His seven wins were third most, behind Steven Farinano of the State College Spikes (9) and Ryan Castellanos of the Connecticut Tigers (8). Coming into the 2016 season, Gonzalez was ranked the Mets’ 23rd best prospect by Amazin’ Avenue, and his stock has likely grown with his performance over the course of the season.

In addition to finishing among various league leaders for the 2016 season, Gonzalez pitched his way into the Brooklyn Cyclones record books. His 2016 season was one of the better pitching seasons in the 16-year history of the franchise. His 88 strikeouts rank third most in a single season, behind only Brad Holt (96, 2008) and Marcos Molina (91, 2014). His 2.01 ERA-, which stood at an even more impressive 1.66 before an ill-fated appearance on the final day of the season piggybacking Justin Dunn, stands as one of the best in team history as well.

Top 20 Brooklyn Cyclone pitching seasons

Year Name Age ERA GS/G IP H HR BB K
2016 Harol Gonzalez 21 2.01 13/14 85 69 2 18 88
2014 Marcos Molina 19 1.78 12/12 76.0 46 2 18 91
2013 Miller Diaz 22 2.02 12/13 66.2 44 1 33 87
2013 Robert Gsellman 19 2.06 12/12 70.0 59 2 12 64
2012 Luis Cessa 20 2.49 13/13 72.1 64 4 13 44
2012 Rainy Lara 21 2.91 12/12 68.0 53 6 12 77
2012 Luis Mateo 22 2.45 12/12 73.1 57 2 9 85
2012 Hansel Robles 21 1.11 12/12 72.2 47 0 10 66
2012 Gabriel Ynoa 19 2.23 13/13 76.2 61 1 10 64
2010 Yohan Almonte 20 1.91 15/15 89.2 68 1 15 60
2010 Angel Cuan 21 2.03 14/14 79.2 68 2 17 64
2009 Mark Cohoon 21 2.15 14/14 92.0 69 4 20 70
2009 Brandon Moore 23 2.09 13/13 82.0 61 4 17 71
2008 Brad Holt 21 1.87 14/14 72.1 43 3 33 96
2007 Dylan Owen 20 1.49 13/14 72.1 51 0 12 69
2005 Bobby Parnell 20 1.73 14/15 73.0 48 1 29 67
2004 Michael Devaney 21 1.95 14/14 69.1 58 1 29 56
2005 Joseph Williams 23 2.28 15/15 75.0 62 3 26 64
2002 Kevin Deaton 20 3.07 15/16 82.0 68 2 18 93
2001 Ross Peeples 21 1.34 15/16 80.1 63 1 29 67

Harol Gonzalez still has a tall hill to climb in his quest to find MLB success, but for at least one season, in at least one league, Gonzalez was the standard of excellence.