Bio
Jasseel De La Cruz a native of Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic, comes to Sioux City after achieving top prospect status while with the Atlanta Braves organization. In 2020 De La Cruz was listed as the 12th ranked prospect by MLB.com for the Braves system. He would eventually find his way to the 40-man roster, but he never appeared in a Major League game.
De La Cruz was signed as an international free agent in 2015 at the tail end of the international signing period. In his first professional season in 2015, the then 18-year-old De La Cruz pitched in seven games of relief for the Braves club in the Dominican Summer League. He would strike out six in 6.1 innings with a 7.11 ERA. He would return to the Dominican Summer League in 2016 pitching in 26.1 innings over 15 games (12 relief and 3 starts) with a 3.42 ERA and 20 strikeouts. He would go 2-0 for the Braves in the DSL. De La Cruz would then pitch in another 15 innings at rookie-level Gulf Coast, picking up a pair of wins in six relief outings with 12 strikeouts while not allowing an earned run in six games.
De La Cruz made two stops in the Braves organization in 2017. At rookie-level Danville in the Appalachian League, he made six starts (one relief appearance) in 23.2 innings with a 5.32 ERA. In 19 innings with the Gulf Coast Braves, he would go 2-1 in four starts with 17 strikeouts. His 2018 season was spent entirely at A-level Rome in the South Atlantic League. He would appear in 15 games while making 13 starts in 69 innings. The right-hander would strike out 65 while allowing 37 earned runs, good for a 4.83 ERA.
De La Cruz would make three stops in the Braves system in 2019. At low-A Rome, he went 0-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings while making four starts. He would strike out 22 with a 1.33 WHIP. At advanced A Florida, he went 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in another four starts, covering 28 innings. He would strike out 26 with a 0.679 WHIP. He would pitch a no-hitter on May 18 for the Fire Frogs in the Florida State League. De La Cruz would make a final stop at AA Mississippi where he would pitch in 87 innings, making 16 starts (one relief outing) with 73 punchouts going 4-7 with a 3.83 ERA. Following his 2019 season, De La Cruz was added to the Braves 40-man roster. On September 15, 2020 he would be promoted to the Major League roster, but he would be optioned back to the taxi squad camp the next day.
In 2021, De La Cruz would spend the entire season at AAA Gwinnett. He would appear in 20 games, making 15 starts over 56.1 innings for the Stripers. De La Cruz would strike out 55 and go 1-3 with a 7.03 ERA. He would once again get called up to the Major League roster on May 8, but he would get sent back down on May 10 without making an appearance. After the 2021 season, De La Cruz was designated for assignment and became a free agent. He would sign a minor-league contract with Atlanta for the 2022 season and make three stops in the organization during the season. At AAA Gwinnett he went 0-2 with an 8.03 ERA in 12.1 innings. In eight innings of relief at AA Mississippi, he went 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA. He would add another six innings at the Braves club at the Florida Complex League with a 6.00 ERA. De La Cruz would then elect free agency following the 2022 season and ink with the Oakland Athletics organization on November 29, 2022. At AA Midland he would make 18 relief appearances over 19.2 innings. De La Cruz struck out 19 while going 2-0 allowing 30 earned runs with a 13.73 ERA. He added another seven frames of work, including a pair of starts at rookie-level Arizona with 10 strikeouts and a 5.14 ERA. During the 2023-2024 winter season De La Cruz worked in 4.1 scoreless innings over three games for Escogido of the Dominican Winter League.