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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.