Felipe De La Cruz News: Having breakout campaign

De La Cruz struck out nine over six scoreless innings in his debut for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. He allowed one hit without walking a batter.

An unheralded southpaw out of the Dominican Republic signed by the Mets in 2021, De La Cruz was still in High-A this time last year, posting a 4.25 ERA and 116:45 K:BB over 106 innings at the level in 2024. Something seems to be clicking for the 23-year-old this season however, and after tearing up the Eastern League with Double-A Binghamton to begin the campaign (1.98 ERA, 20:3 K:BB in 13.2 innings), De La Cruz absolutely dominated in his International League debut. Per Tim Britton and Will Sammon of the Athletic, De La Cruz sports a four-seam fastball, a sinker and a slider and sits in the mid-90s with his heater. He's not yet on the 40-man roster, which could complicate a potential big-league debut this season, but if he keeps delivering performances like this, he'll force his way into the Mets' plans.