3 red hot NY Mets minor leaguers you won’t find on anyone’s top 30 list

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.

2) LHP Zach Thornton

Zach Thornton was the Mets’ 5th-round pick in 2023. The left-hander was selected out of Grand Canyon University and was considered a top 200 prospect by both MLB Pipeline (#165) and Baseball America (#190). Both sites praised his ability to locate, as he put up just a 4.8% walk rate in 88.1 innings in his final college season.

Thornton’s ability to limit walks has continued into pro baseball. Last season, he had a respectable 4.10 ERA but had just a 6.1% walk rate in 68 innings between A-Ball St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn. He was used both as a starter and reliever, coming out of the bullpen eight times and making a dozen starts. Thornton also had a ground ball rate of just under 50% at 49.5%, which helped him keep up a strong 0.53 HR/9 ratio. The only downside is that he had just an 18.2% strikeout percentage.

Thornton has opened the year once again at Brooklyn but is off to a great start. Like De La Cruz, he has yet to allow an earned run, but in ten innings. Only two opponents have reached via walk, leading to a BB% of only 5.8%. But he has already struck out 14 batters. Last season, it took Thornton five in-game appearances for him to strikeout this many batters. 

Thornton is not a hard-throwing pitcher, sitting in the low 90s, so he’ll need to maintain his plus command. He’ll also throw a slider, curveball, and change-up. But he could be someone notable to watch within the next few years if he can induce more swings and misses, as well as strikeouts like he has thus far into the minor league season.

3) 1B/OF Estarling Mercado

Estarling Mercado is another former international signing. The Mets brought the first baseman/outfield on board in September 2022. While he has shown some power potential and plate discipline throughout the minor leagues, it has come at the cost of his strikeout rate, which has been the biggest hindering factor of his career thus far.

Last season, Mercado appeared in parts of 73 games with 275 plate appearances for both Brooklyn and St. Lucie, batting a meager .178/.313/.352 with a .325 wOBA and 97 wRC+. Mercado hit nine home runs with a .178 isolated slugging percentage while drawing a walk 13.1% of the time. However, he struck out nearly a third of the time (33.1%, to be exact).

Mercado was sent to St. Lucie to open 2025, and for what it’s worth, he’s off to a strong start. He already has seven hits in 20 plate appearances. For reference, he had eight hits in 50 plate appearances last year after he got the promotion to High-A ball. Two of these hits have gone for extra bases, with a double and triple. Mercado still has some red flags. He's already struckout six times, which leads to a 30% K%. His batting average on balls in play is over .600 at .636, which will not be sustainable over a larger sample size. But already having nearly as many hits in under half the playing time compared to last year is a good way to start the season, at the very least, even if some issues still persist.