Minors Weekly Report: Felipe De La Cruz Shines in Triple-A Debut

Multiple Mets minor leaguers received accolades this week for their play, whether it was for the month of April or just for the most recent series. One of those players, Felipe De La Cruz, was named International League Pitcher of the Week.

A relatively overlooked lefty pitching prospect who had an ERA above 4.00 for High-A Brooklyn last year, De La Cruz shined by tossing six scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and nine strikeouts in his Syracuse Mets debut. De La Cruz is soon to be 24 years old and has been one of the most notable breakout pitchers in the Mets’ farm system this year.

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets had a rough series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, dropping four of the six games in the series. The Mets lost the first three games of the series, two of which were shutouts, but they avoided total embarrassment by grabbing two of the last three games of the series. Syracuse is 15-18 this year.

While Felipe De La Cruz is receiving most of the attention in Syracuse, Drew Gilbert is also settling in nicely with his Triple-A squad after a really strong week against the RailRiders. Gilbert went 5-for-17 with a home run and a double, and he also drove in three runs while scoring five of his own. Gilbert struck out just three times in six games and walked five times. With a .987 OPS for the series, Gilbert now has an .823 OPS through 14 games with Triple-A this year.

Donovan Walton had a strong week at the plate as he was the only Met to hit multiple home runs in the series. (He had two.) He also led the team with seven hits and tied for the team lead with two doubles. Walton now owns a .752 OPS on the year.

Rico Garcia (four scoreless innings) and TJ Shook (three scoreless innings) stood out as quality bullpen arms this past week. Garcia didn’t allow a single hit and walked two with three strikeouts, while Shook allowed a hit and a walk with four strikeouts.

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies played six games including two doubleheaders against the Erie SeaWolves this past week. The series was very even, with both teams taking three games each including a split of both doubleheaders. The Rumble Ponies are 15-11 through 26 games.

The big news out of Binghamton is that Nolan McLean has been promoted to the Syracuse Mets. His last start with the Rumble Ponies was a fantastic one, as McLean tossed six scoreless innings with four strikeouts. That brought his ERA on the year down to 1.37 through five starts.

Jett Williams has been hot at the plate, and he continued his strong performance against Erie. In five games, Williams went 5-for-16 with three doubles and a stolen base. He also struck out just once and walked twice. After recording a .529 OPS in 22 games with Binghamton last year, Williams owns an .873 OPS in 21 games with Binghamton to start 2025.

William Lugo is hitting .324 on the year for the Rumble Ponies, and that average received a bum due to an 8-for-20 week against Erie. Lugo hit a home run and three doubles, though he did strikeout seven times with no walks. His deficiency in walks this year makes his .755 OPS seem disappointing compared to his stellar batting average, though the Mets will take the hits after he batted just .186 in Brooklyn last year.

Nick Lorusso also looked strong at the plate against Erie, going 6-for-16 with a home run, a double, and two walks. Lorusso owns an .823 OPS through 22 games this year.

Jonah Tong continued doing what he does best in his lone start against Erie: striking people out. Tong allowed a run in four innings, striking out eight in the process. He now owns a 3.38 ERA in five starts this year, with 38 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. Tong could be joining McLean in Syracuse later this summer.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones won their series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, taking four out of the six games. The Cyclones excelled offensively, scoring 44 runs in the series (7.33 runs per game), though they also received some great pitching performances. Brooklyn is now 17-9.

Two Cyclones (Zach Thornton, who is now with Binghamton, and Jacob Reimer) earned awards for the month of April, with Thornton being named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month and Reimer being named South Atlantic League Player of the Month.

While Thornton has already been promoted and Reimer hasn’t, the third baseman might not be far behind as he has continued his success into May. In the series against Wilmington, Reimer went 10-for-25 with three home runs, two doubles, and seven RBIs. He owns a 1.027 OPS through 25 games this year.

Carson Benge and Ronald Hernandez also had scorching performances at the plate during the series. Benge went 8-for-22 with a triple, two doubles, and six runs scored while Hernandez went 8-for-18 with two home runs, five RBIs, and four runs scored. Benge continued to heat up, improving his OPS on the year to .787 while Hernandez now owns a .750 OPS.

Paul Blackburn made his first rehab start of the year as he looks to work his way back to the Mets for his 2025 debut. Blackburn allowed two runs in three innings but struck out six in the effort.

Noah Hall made two of the starts in this series and looked great, allowing just three runs in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts. Hall has been phenomenal through six starts, owning a 1.88 ERA.

Joel Díaz finally allowed his first run of the season in his fifth appearance, allowing just the one run in five innings. Díaz will now have to settle with owning an 0.44 ERA instead of the 0.00 ERA he held entering this past week.

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets split their series with the Jupiter Hammerheads, though they now sit in first place in their division due to a five-loss skid from the Palm Beach Cardinals, who had been in first place. St. Lucie owns a 15-12 record through 17 games this year.

While he has since been promoted to Brooklyn, A.J. Ewing was recognized as being the best batter in the Florida State League for the month of April after he dazzled with a 1.121 OPS.

Yonatan Henriquez was the standout hitter for the Mets against the Hammerheads, even though he went just 3-for-14. He had two home runs and walked four times, giving him an OPS over 1.000 for the series. The struggling Henriquez now owns a .606 OPS for the year.

Simon Juan had a positive week after being in a massive slump to start the year. The 19-year-old who broke out in rookie ball a year ago went 8-for-22 with a home run and four runs scored. He still owns just a .521 OPS.

The stars of the week, however, were two starting pitchers in Nate Dohm and Edgar Moreta. Dohm struck out six over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, while Moreta struck out five over five scoreless innings. Dohm has been impressive this year with a 2.22 ERA in six starts, while Moreta has also looked good with a 3.57 ERA in five appearances including three starts.

Irving Cota, meanwhile, shined out of the bullpen with 4 2/3 scoreless innings across two appearances. Cota has been phenomenal this year, owning a 0.50 ERA through six appearances an 18 innings.

Florida Complex League

The FCL Mets’ season is officially underway, though they have played just one game to this point and are 0-1 with a 9-2 loss to the FCL Cardinals. Julio Zayas and Jake Zitella drove in the two runs for the Mets while Jose Guevara started and struggled.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .365

OPS – Jacob Reimer (BRK) – 1.027

HR – Jon Singleton (SYR) – 7

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – 16

Pitching

ERA – Joel Díaz (BRK) – 0.44

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 38

WHIP – Joel Díaz (BRK) – 0.68

Players of the Week

Offense – Jacob Reimer, 3B/1B Brooklyn

Reimer appears close to being promoted to Binghamton as he continues to mash in High-A. The April Player of the Month hasn’t lost a step in May and carries an OPS above 1.000 into Tuesday’s action. The 21-year-old appears ready for the next step, whenever he may be called upon.

Pitching – Felipe De La Cruz, P Syracuse

Earning Pitcher of the Week honors for his first ever start in Syracuse, part of a league known to favor offense, is no small feat for Felipe De La Cruz. The lefty looked excellent and appears poised for a breakthrough season. After recording a 4.25 ERA in Brooklyn last year and a 5.40 ERA in the Dominican Winter League this past winter, De La Cruz now has a 1.37 ERA in five appearances between Binghamton and Syracuse, including his latest start for Triple-A which was nothing short of a gem.

Upcoming Schedule – May 6-11

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Jacksonville
• Double-A Binghamton: vs. Erie
• High-A Brooklyn: @ Asheville
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Clearwater

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