The New York Mets have seen many of their top prospects get off to hot starts. 14 of their minor leaguers currently have a wRC+ of 150 or greater in at least ten plate appearances. Of those 14, six can be found on MLB Pipeline or Baseball America’s top 30 Mets’ prospect list. Other top pitching prospects like Nolan McLean and Jack Wenniger are also off to strong starts. But not every prospect that’s off to a strong start can be found on either of these lists. But these unranked prospects are doing just as well as some of the Mets’ best minor leaguers.
1) LHP Felipe De La Cruz
Felipe De La Cruz was an international signee by the Mets in March 2021. The lefty has steadily climbed the minor league ladder, consistently posting healthy strikeout rates. De La Cruz is now at Double-A Binghamton, where he has started off the year with 6.1 scoreless frames. He is still inducing a high amount of strikeouts, with nine already under his belt. Only two batters have reached against him via free pass.
De La Cruz kicks his season off after a solid campaign in 2024 at High-A Brooklyn. Last season, he tossed 106 innings, working to a 4.25 ERA and 1.40 WHIP but a strong 3.09 FIP. De La Cruz struck out just under a quarter of opponents with a 24.8% K% and a 9.6% walk rate. Both were about league average for the South Atlantic League. But he excelled in limiting home runs, allowing just two dingers all season.
De La Cruz isn’t a complete unknown. FanGraphs mentioned him in their ‘other prospects of note’ section in their write-up of the Mets’ system in May 2024. They mentioned he sat 94-96 MPH as a starter with good athleticism but lacking a strong arsenal. Baseball America also mentions the southpaw as a prospect to know beyond the Mets’ top 30. They mention his slider looked more consistent and could be a future reliever. If he is sitting mid-90s as a starter, there’s definitely potential for De La Cruz to carve out a role as a left-handed reliever in the Major Leagues in the future.