The Rockaway Wave
Originally Published September 4, 2026
One year ago this month, the Brooklyn Cyclones became South Atlantic League champions. Game 2, the clincher, was a quiet, 2-1 pitcher’s duel. Game 1 was anything but.
In the bottom of the second inning with the game tied 1-1 and runners on first and second, Yonatan Henríquez, a switch hitter batting righty, stepped up to the plate. On an 0-2 count, he connected. Henríquez drove one well over the left field wall to give the Cyclones a 4-1 lead, one they would not relinquish.
His excitement and fire were palpable.
“I felt very emotional because it was my first home run in a final, and above all, my family was there, my mother; it was incredible that they were in the stadium,” Henríquez said through Cyclones Clubhouse Attendant Joaquin Lugo, who was acting as an interpreter.
The run production didn’t stop there. In the bottom of the fifth inning with the Cyclones leading 8-1, Henríquez pulled a single through the right side of the infield for his fourth and fifth RBIs of the day. Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Henríquez smacked another one up the middle for his sixth RBI and the final Cyclones run of the day, making it 13-1.
All told, Henríquez finished his day 4-for-6 at the plate with six RBIs, the single-game most in Cyclones postseason history. He even stole a base for good measure.
Henríquez only played seven regular-season games and four postseason games for Brooklyn last season, so he returned to the level to begin 2026. The first portion of his season was marred by injury. He hurt his oblique coming out of spring training, and then had a hand/wrist issue that forced him to take at-bats lefty on lefty, which is a challenge for a switch hitter.
Now, he’s finally healthy, and he’s taken off.
“It was kind of kind of start, stop, start, stop, and that’s always tough,” Cyclones Hitting Coach Devin DeYoung said. “As of recent, he’s found consistency in his routine. He nails it every day. It just took him a little time to get back to it, especially battling through a little bit of pain.”
The statistical comparison is staggering. In his first 67 games, Henríquez hit .190/.248/.294/.542 with three home runs and a 45 wRC+. In his next 27 games from July 30 to September 2, he hit .300/.363/.582/.945 with seven home runs, 10 doubles and a 140 wRC+.
The numbers are supported under the hood, too. He’s an aggressive hitter, and he’s always going to be one. Now, though, he’s doing a better job of being more selectively aggressive. Over his
recent hot streak that now stretches back over a month, Henríquez has cut his chase rate about nine percent, a huge mark. Sometimes this is done by hitters just swinging less in general, both at pitches in and out of the zone, but that’s not the case here. He’s still swinging at a ton of pitches in the zone, and he’s actually making more in-zone contact, too, on top of the improved chase rate. This has resulted in him cutting his strikeout rate by over 10%.
“He increased the contact first, and then started feeling really good,” DeYoung said. “He was trending up in June, and then we saw him drop in performance again, but that was a byproduct of him feeling so good he started swinging at everything. So, got him to shrink the zone. That was an intentional conversation. Now that he feels great and can’t miss, now it’s really important to stick to your zone and your plan.”
Like many switch hitters, Henríquez has differences in his stance and swing as a lefty and as a righty. His are more distinct than most. From the right side, he has a very simple setup with his bat resting on his right shoulder, and then goes into a standard leg kick during the swing. From the left side, there’s much more movement. He has a significant bat waggle and holds his hands further away from his body, only pausing when the pitcher begins his motion.
“One of the things that he’s doing is he’s squeezing the bat really hard, and he’s trying not to load,” DeYoung said. “Whenever he loads, he loses his barrel. So now he’s trying to grip his bat as tight as possible and keep it as close to his chest as he can. And it’ll still creep away, but that’s been his mechanism for really the past three weeks now since the Wilmington series. That’s kind of when he decided on it, and since then he’s been nails. Like, he can’t miss lately.”
Recently, the waggle has been even more pronounced, leaving him in an almost Eric Davis-esque stance. Henríquez said he used to do it less, but he has been doing it more recently to help him match the rhythm of the pitcher and help with is timing.
He has done a lot of work with DeYoung, who was also his hitting coach last year for over 100 games at Single-A St. Lucie, over the last two seasons.
“It’s been a journey. I feel like he’s my son,” DeYoung said. “Very similar story last year. Came out struggling, very similar situation … I’ve seen this guy do this twice now. He just overcomes adversity. Slow start, doesn’t matter. It’s always frustrating for a hitter, but he’s 2-for-2 overcoming it, so. I’m super impressed with him, and when he’s dialed, he’s the best player on the field.”
The Cyclones have deployed Henríquez as a utility man this year, giving him starts at all three outfield positions and everywhere on the dirt besides first base and catcher. While he has a slight preference for center field as the one spot where he’s the most comfortable, he’s happy moving around.
“[I] don’t care about what position [I] play, the only thing that [I] need is to play every day,” Henríquez said.
It’s that versatility that could help get him to the big leagues. He’s an athletic player who offers both power and speed, and the ability to play practically anywhere on the field boosts his profile.
